And in each of those hearings, as lottery Executive Director Ryan Mindell appeared to struggle to provide answers that would satisfy the elected officials, an overarching theme emerged: Texas lawmakers had little to no confidence in his ability to run the gambling enterprise that makes around $2 billion in annual profits for the state.

The investigation into two controversial lottery jackpots in Texas had drummed up questions about the role of online ticketing firms known as lottery couriers in the state – and nationwide.