A fierce critic of the Texas lottery is now offering the embattled agency a lifeline
One of the Texas Lottery's leading critics in the Legislature filed an 11th-hour bill Monday to keep the embattled agency alive, though the proposal would transfer its oversight from the Lottery Commission to another state agency.
State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, earlier in the legislative session proposed measures to abolish the revenue-generating, state-run gaming operation and make clear that no game tickets could be bought or sold online. On Monday, however, he filed Senate Bill 3070, which would allow the games of chance to continue under the auspices of the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation. The commission would also take over the operations of the state's charitable bingo games.
In an interview after he filed the measure, Hall described SB 3070 as "an alternative" to shuttering the lottery and forgoing the revenue it brings to the state.
"It will be paring it down, limiting what (the lottery) can do," Hall said of the legislation.
Under the bill, there would be limits on how many tickets can be purchased at one time by a player and that all sales would have to be made at a traditional "brick and mortar" retail store that is licensed to sell lottery tickets. And even though he filed the bill in the closing weeks of the legislative session, Hall said he expects quick action in the Senate.
"It will be coming to the floor pretty quick," he said.
Assuming it clears the Senate, the bill would have to be fast-tracked in the House to meet the legislative deadline.
By turning the lottery over to the licensing and regulation agency, the five-member Lottery Commission would be dissolved. Both the members of the Lottery Commission and the Licensing and Regulation Commission are appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation of the Texas Senate.
Hall has been unmerciful in his denunciation of how the lottery has been run over the past several years and has said the Legislature and the voters erred in 1991 when they amended the state Constitution to allow the lottery as a means to raise money for the state without increasing taxes.
In recent years, the lottery has sold about $8 billion worth of tickets annually, netting an annual profit to the state of about $2 billion. The bulk of those profits are dedicated to public schools though it remains insufficient to fully fund education. In 2024, the lottery provided about $24 million for veterans assistance programs.
Hall has been particularly critical of the lottery's decision to allow third-party vendors to sell tickets using smartphone apps, alleging it opened the door to money launderers and minors to play the games. The 1991 law that established the lottery prohibits using a telephone to buy and sell tickets, but it had never been updated to account for the internet.
SB 3070 would make clear that third-party vendors, known in the industry as lottery couriers, could not operate in Texas. The bill would also establish a department of security within the state's Financial Crimes Intelligence Center that would "identify and respond to criminal activity related to financial crimes associated with the state lottery and charitable bingo."
If Hall's measure is enacted before the legislative session ends June 2, lawmakers would likely have to reverse a previous House decision to reduce the lottery's budget to zero in the chamber's version of the 2026-27 spending plan.
Ryan Mindell, who bore the brunt of the ire from Hall and other lawmakers earlier this year, resigned as the lottery's executive director in April without stating a reason.
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2025/05/12/texas-lottery-critic-now-providing-embattled-agency-a-lifeline/83584392007/