Lottery.com's CEO and co-founder Tony DiMatteo resigns amid company turmoil, other high-profile executive departures

On Friday, Lawrence Anthony DiMatteo III, co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of Lottery.com Inc and a member of its Board of Directors, resigned as CEO of the company. He is also resigning as chief executive of wholly own subsidiary AutoLotto Inc, and all other subsidiaries and affiliates with the exception of LTRY Win Together. The decision had immediate effect and follows other high-profile exits this month.

The company has accepted the executive’s resignation, which comes after DiMatteo served as an officer and director of AutoLotto since 2015; and as CEO of the company since a business combination in 2021. Lottery.com has entered into a resignation and release agreement with the now former director.

Pursuant to the agreement, DiMatteo resigned as CEO of the company effective July 22, and he will now serve as Senior Advisor to the Board, "and continuing until either party gives no less than ten days’ prior notice to the other party unless certain conditions for earlier termination become applicable."

“DiMatteo shall provide consulting and advisory services to the Board as requested; cooperate in any ongoing and any future investigation by or related to the company; respond to inquiries from the Board or anyone in management (...) and serve as the director and/or officer of certain subsidiary of affiliated entities of the company," the resignation and release agreement states.  

DiMatteo's resignation is the latest high-profile exit from the company this month, and follows Chief Revenue Officer Matthew Clemenson's resignation last week. He had been promoted to that role in March this year.

This came as Lottery.com revealed it "overstated" its cash holdings by $30 million, deciding to sack its president and CFO after discovering questions about its compliance and accounting practices. The broker said it initiated a review after discovering “instances of non-compliance with state and federal laws concerning the state in which tickets are procured."

Following this, the company's board terminated the employment of its president, treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer Ryan Dickinson earlier this month —also promoted to that role in March. Harry Dhaliwal has been appointed as interim CFO, who co-leads the management of the company with Katie Lever, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

Ryan Dickinson.

Back in May, DiMatteo announced the financial results for Lottery.com for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. The business posted revenue of $21.2 million, an increase of $15.7 million when compared to the same period in 2021. The former CEO stated he was "pleased" with the results at the time.

However, the online lottery and gaming company has now announced it will have to redo, or restate, its 2021 year-end and first-quarter 2022 financial statements, as unveiled in the same securities filing that disclosed DiMatteo's resignation.

The accounting error was reported by auditor Armanino LLP, and stems from failing to record a line of credit that a company subsidiary entered into in January. The company didn't say how much the line of credit was worth, according to Bloomberg.