Former Texas Lottery chief heads to court. Here’s how the agency’s troubles unfolded
The indictment centers on whether lottery officials helped a group print more than 25 million tickets for the $95 million drawing.
- On Friday, Former Texas Lottery Executive Director Gary Grief appeared in a Travis County courtroom for a pretrial hearing on a first-degree felony charge of abuse of official capacity tied to a 2023 Lotto Texas jackpot.
- The case stems from an April 22, 2023, drawing where a $95 million jackpot prompted scrutiny after a group spent roughly $26 million to buy nearly every possible number combination, yielding a winning ticket.
- Investigators allege lottery officials provided additional terminals to retailers for this bulk purchase, which critics argue effectively permitted unauthorized online lottery sales bypassing state laws prohibiting play by telephone.
- Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 3070 in June 2025, abolishing the Texas Lottery Commission and transferring oversight to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, while prosecutors separately indicted Grief.
- Attorney Sam Bassett claims the indictment is politically motivated, yet Texas attorney JoDee Neil warned the case may "erode the public confidence in the lottery system" as proceedings continue.
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Former Texas Lottery director appears in court over $95 million jackpot scandal
Former Texas Lottery director appears in court over $95 million jackpot scandal Click this link for the original source of this article. Author: Texas Scorecard This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.offthepress.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host...
Lottery Boss Appears in Court over $95 Million Scandal
Former Texas Lottery Executive Director Gary Grief faces a first-degree felony charge of abuse of official capacity tied to the controversial 2023 jackpot. The post Lottery Boss Appears in Court over $95 Million Scandal appeared first on Texas Scorecard.
Former Texas lottery director accused of defrauding players appears in Travis County court
It was the first time Grief was seen in public since Texas lawmakers accused him of defrauding players in an April 2023 Lotto Texas drawing that resulted in one entity winning $95 million.
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Former Texas Lottery chief heads to court. Here’s how the agency’s troubles unfolded
More than three years after a group of gamblers spent millions of dollars buying nearly every possible combination for a Texas lottery drawing, the fallout is moving into a new phase: criminal court.
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