Sources say that a top-level official with the Tennessee Education Lottery, who has one of the sports betting industry’s most polished resumes, resigned her position late last week, becoming the second executive to leave that position in the past nine months.
That woman, Danielle Boyd, was the TEL’s vice president of Sports Gaming Operations. Boyd assumed that position in July 2020, according to her LinkedIn page.
Boyd resigned Thursday, said sources. Those sources also said that no one has formally notified members of the Sports Wagering Committee of the TEL’s Board of Directors.
Rebecca Hargrove is the CEO of TEL.
Boyd’s predecessor, Jennifer Roberts, resigned from the same position after a six month and three week stint that began on December 5, 2019 and ended on June 26, 2020. With Boyd’s resignation, two senior executives at the TEL in charge of sports gaming operations have come and gone over the past fifteen months
The Tennessee Star contacted Boyd through her Facebook and LinkedIn pages Sunday. Boyd did not immediately return our requests for comment.
Boyd’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages still list her as the current vice president of Sports Gaming Operations. Boyd does not list her job on her Twitter feed, which she has not updated since Wednesday of last week.
As of Sunday, the TEL’s website did not recognize Boyd as a member of that organization’s leadership staff. A check of Boyd’s first and last name in the TEL website’s search engine produced zero results.
According to LinkedIn, Boyd, from October 2018 to July of last year, headed Government Relations for the Las Vegas-based race and sportsbook company William Hill. From December 2011 through October 2018, she was managing general counsel of the West Virginia Lottery. Prior to that, Boyd was staff attorney for the West Virginia State Tax Department’s Litigation Division. Boyd obtained a law degree from West Virginia University College of Law.
Last June, shortly before Tennessee launched its sports wagering industry, the website TNBets.com described Boyd as “one of the sports betting industry’s top minds.”
“Boyd’s previous experience includes helping the state of West Virginia become one of the first states in the country to take advantage of the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the federal prohibition on single-game sports wagering,” TNBets.com reported.
Boyd’s reason for departing was unknown as of Sunday.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Revolving Door” by Ben Schumin CC2.0 and “TEL President and CEO Rebecca Paul Hargrove” is by Tennessee Education Lottery.
Editor’s Note: Action 24/7, which is regulated by the TEL, has advertised with The Tennessee Star and Tennessee Star Report.
Must have hit the lottery jackpot,…..