Penn. Lottery seeking outside help for marketing efforts

Apr 5, 2012, 10:27 am (8 comments)

Pennsylvania Lottery

'The lottery would not be sold nor will it be fully privatized'

HARRISBURG, Pa. — An aging population's increased demand for services and the need for stable funding for those programs sparked Gov. Tom Corbett administration's decision to seek private managers for the Pennsylvania Lottery, senior administration officials told a House oversight committee Tuesday.

By 2030, a quarter of Pennsylvanians will be 65 years or older, and the lottery, which had sales of $3.2 billion during the 2010-11 fiscal year, will have to grow by 20 percent to meet those needs, Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser told lawmakers.

And that means looking outside the agency to private interests with the expertise to help the lottery improve its marketing efforts and products.

"Now is the time to assess whether we can achieve that higher level of funding in that eight-year period," said Meuser, who was flanked by state Aging Secretary Brian Duke and the lottery's executive director, Todd Rucci. "The lottery is good. We want to take it from good to great."

The two Cabinet secretaries and Rucci faced polite, but insistent, questioning during a 90-minute appearance before the House Aging and Adult Services Committee. The panel has oversight of the programs funded by the lottery.

On Monday, the Corbett administration announced it had issued what's known as a "request for qualifications" to handle the day-to-day operations of the 233-employee agency. Meuser described the move as the first phase of a three-phase process and said the state would not move forward unless it finds qualified companies.

"The lottery would not be sold nor will it be fully privatized," Meuser said. Unlike the proposed sale of Pennsylvania's more than 600 state-owned liquor stores, Pennsylvania is barred by federal law from fully spinning off its lottery.

The lottery provides about 75 percent of the funding to the state Department of Aging, Duke said. It pays for such popular programs as the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program and Pennsylvania's Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE), a prescription drug benefit.

Interested companies would have until May 1 to submit their credentials, with a review lasting until about September. Assuming the state finds qualified companies, those companies would be invited to submit bids to run the agency, sparking another three-month review. If the state did decide to award a contract, that would not happen until at least January 2013, Meuser said.

The Cabinet officials repeatedly sought to reassure skeptical lawmakers that the state would retain ownership and control of the agency. Several lawmakers said they were concerned about the state getting locked into a long-term deal that ultimately might not work.

"Tread lightly," said Rep. Randy Vulakovich, R-Allegheny. "I'd like for us to know what we're doing before we do it."

The officials could not provide answers on the fate of the lottery employees, most of whom are represented by Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

But "this is a growth initiative; this is not about cutting jobs and saving money," said Rucci. "It's about how we grow to provide more money" for senior programs.

Morning Call

Comments

mcginnin56

Should be an interesting story to follow. Wonder if other states with similar conditions will follow suit? Privatization might actually be the

best thing that ever happened to the state run lotteries. Many people including myself, are very disappointed with the crappy returns

on most if not all of the scratch games in the last few years.  Dead

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

The Unions don't want to lose their "Cadillac" wages, benefits and pensions!

After 8 very long years of Ed Spendel, we have a real leader in Pennsylvania!   Dance

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

they should sell off the 600 state owned liquor stores first.

they been talking about it for 30 years.

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

Been terribly disappointed in the PA Lottery , both as a player and one who no longer endorses the gimmick " Benefits" senior citizens". When only 28% of the funds go to senior programs its a waste of promoting it. Fed up with PA trying to sell the players on how its of social benefit...(Tapping into our elder remorse"). They split it out based on populus and NOT on a senior who needs it....

Having an international company manage it is even more un-nerving...then our monies line their pockets....

As to the Liquor control board....huge fan of keeping it under state guidance....Selling it off is a known fact to bring in more crime and higher pricing...instead of regulated....Besides I dont drink and really dont want to see the beer in the same store my grandson goes for his once a week candy treat....

dr65's avatardr65

Stop the financial forecasting and work with what you have PA. Their projections about a scenario that might take place 18 years from now are just one

more thing to use as an excuse for pushing more tickets, higher priced games, lower top prizes and payouts (or the other way around: high top prizes

with fewer winners and payouts and more money for the bean counters to drool over)

The lottery in PA as in any state is a huge money maker. It's a definite cash cow. SOMEONE is not happy with the current haul and is using projections

relating to 20 years from now to justify changing hands and bringing in a promotional team? Does that mean we will see even more advertising and

enticements of million dollar dreams and instant riches possible for anyone who plays? I can't get much more disgusted than I already am with the

current advertising.

I've seen instant ticket odds creep up and up to almost 1 in 5...won't be long before they are 1 in 6. I've seen odds in jackpot games change, prize

money manipulated and games discontinued because they weren't 'games the people wanted'.....which translates to: games that do not make enough

money.

I'm tired of reading about senior citizen benefits. If that were true, senior citizens would be the epitome of health and well being. They would not need

to worry about transportation and would be able to afford the pharmacy bill at their local Walmart. All would be living decently and have access to the

services the Lottery claims benefits them. I'm sure the poster child for the PA senior benefits program has plenty of good to say about it, she looks

happy. The reality is there are an awful lot of seniors funding their very own program. Let the lottery take a look into the demographics and find

out just who is helping who and who is being taken advantage of too.

1/3 of lottery proceeds are supposed to be helping seniors. 61 cents of every dollar made is being paid back to players 'in the form of prize money'.

That's about 10 cents of every dollar made going to the state lottery?? Well, someone needs to be hired to re-do the figures, I find it very hard to

believe those estimates.

This proposal is garbage and a sham. Planning for the future? Nice try PA tying senior citizens into the equation.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

They should get a little creative if they want to increase lottery revenue.

How about vending machines that dispense lottery tickets, 16 oz. cups of beer and double shots of whiskey, strategically placed around high traffic areas like airports, train stations, grocery stores, laundromats, libraries and public parks?

They could have deals like getting a free scratcher with every beer and double shot purchase or a free beer or double shot with every $20 scratcher.

They'd make a fortune!

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Apr 6, 2012

They should get a little creative if they want to increase lottery revenue.

How about vending machines that dispense lottery tickets, 16 oz. cups of beer and double shots of whiskey, strategically placed around high traffic areas like airports, train stations, grocery stores, laundromats, libraries and public parks?

They could have deals like getting a free scratcher with every beer and double shot purchase or a free beer or double shot with every $20 scratcher.

They'd make a fortune!

Sorry RdG, Our PA state doesnt endorse underage drinking or the "ease" of alcohol thru Vending machines. (Bows head in thanks that we haven't gotten that greedy for funds).

The vending machines are already jamming and slicing tickets incorrectly and the players lose even more...

Like a slot machine they state that jams and lost tickets (damaged) are not re-imbursed.

We make our fortune by raising our turnpike tolls and overpaying state employees who's IQ's collectively dont meet the legal age for gaming *grin*

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by TheGameGrl on Apr 14, 2012

Sorry RdG, Our PA state doesnt endorse underage drinking or the "ease" of alcohol thru Vending machines. (Bows head in thanks that we haven't gotten that greedy for funds).

The vending machines are already jamming and slicing tickets incorrectly and the players lose even more...

Like a slot machine they state that jams and lost tickets (damaged) are not re-imbursed.

We make our fortune by raising our turnpike tolls and overpaying state employees who's IQ's collectively dont meet the legal age for gaming *grin*

Your state doesn't endorse the "ease" of alcohol thru vending machines?

Well they should. Think what a drastic cut Vegas would be taking without the booze. Booze and gambling go together like democrats and corruption. One always complements the other.

Lobby your State Senators and State Reps and Governor for Booze and Lottery vending machines and all your dreams will come true.

End of comments
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