Clark Smith, one of five members of the commission, stepped down Friday as lawmakers have raised questions about the role of lottery couriers and agency governance.
Texas Lottery Commissioner Clark Smith has resigned, according to a spokesperson with the commission, as scrutiny for the department from lawmakers grows.
Smith’s resignation was effective on Friday, the spokesperson confirmed, but did not provide further information. Smith’s resignation comes just over a week after he and several other Texas Lottery Commission officials were grilled at a state Senate Finance Committee hearing over couriers, which lawmakers worry might be allowing people to game the lottery system — potentially illegally. At one point during the meeting, Smith apologized to a state senator after saying he was “generally familiar” with provisions of the state law governing the Texas Lottery.
Without Smith, the board has four members, including its chair, Robert Rivera.
Couriers, third-party services allowing players to buy tickets over the internet or through apps, have come under fire by lawmakers after a $95 million jackpot was won by several companies — one of which a courier service — by printing nearly every possible ticket. Senators at the Finance Committee also expressed concern the couriers could be used by out-of-state residents or minors to buy tickets illegally.
TLC said during the meeting it lacked the legal precedent to regulate couriers but had corrected other issues allowing the companies to print the over 25 million tickets necessary to win the 2023 jackpot. The latest jackpot, won in February for $83.5 million, was also won through the use of a courier, prompting Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to cast his own doubts on the practice in a video on X.
Smith’s resignation is the second retirement of a major TLC official in under a year, as former Executive Director Gary Grief resigned in 2024. Since then, Grief has faced repeated allegations of fraud and recklessness for allowing couriers to operate in a grey area, and some senators have suggested he should face criminal charges for any potential involvement in the 2023 jackpot. A lawsuit against Grief was also filed in February alleging he intentionally helped the courier companies.
A bill aimed at banning courier use is scheduled to be heard in a Senate Committee on State Affairs meeting Monday, and the commission itself is set to be discussed tomorrow during a Texas House Appropriations Committee meeting. Smith was appointed to the commission in late 2023 by Gov. Greg Abbott and was set to serve until 2029.
Source: Ayden Runnels, The Texas Tribune
Photo: A Texas Lottery display at Winners Corner, a board game lottery and gift store, in Austin on Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune
