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TEXAS LOTTERY COMMISSION APPOINTS TOM HANSON DIRECTOR OF CHARITABLE BINGO (AUSTIN) –
The Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) has appointed Tom Hanson as Director of the Charitable Bingo Operations Division, where he will oversee the agency’s regulation of bingo effective June 11, 2020. Hanson, now in his 15th year with the TLC, had been serving as the Acting Charitable Bingo Operations Director since he was appointed to that role by the Commission on Feb. 13.
“After seeing a positive trajectory over the last several months, I am confident in Mr. Hanson’s ability to lead the Charitable Bingo Operations Division on a permanent basis,” said Texas Lottery Commission Chairman J. Winston Krause. “Throughout his tenure with the Texas Lottery Commission, Mr. Hanson has demonstrated strong leadership skills and solid knowledge of the bingo industry.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Charitable Bingo Operations Division,” Hanson said. “I look forward to our division working with the bingo industry, so that together we can help Texas charities generate much needed revenue for their causes while operating within the Bingo Enabling Act and Administrative Rules.”
Hanson assumes his new role with more than 30 years of experience as an investigator, which includes more than 27 years of experience in the bingo industry. Since arriving to the TLC in 2005 as an investigator of lottery and bingo, Hanson’s duties have included background investigations, as well as complaint investigations where he visited bingo industry manufacturers, distributors and halls conducting bingo. Additionally, he has led financial investigations related to audit results or reports of improprieties and bingo-derived funds.
Prior to joining the TLC, Hanson’s career in the industry began in 1989 with the Idaho Lottery Commission as a technology contractor before transitioning to a commissioned peace officer investigator. In 1992, Hanson’s duties expanded to the regulation, licensing and investigations of bingo operations. Before his lottery and bingo career, Hanson served as a security police officer for the United States Air Force from 1975-1979. Hanson received a certification in law enforcement from Mesa Community College in 1984 and later went on to earn certification in computer forensics from Oregon State University in 2005.
About Charitable Bingo
The Charitable Bingo Operations Division of the Texas Lottery Commission is charged with the strict control and close supervision of bingo conducted in Texas. Charitable Bingo provides authorized organizations the opportunity to raise funds for their charitable purposes by conducting bingo and determines that all charitable bingo funds are used for an authorized purpose and that bingo is conducted fairly. Charitable Bingo works to achieve voluntary compliance and assist licensees through training and education. For more information about charitable bingo, please visit the official Texas Charitable Bingo website at www.txbingo.org.