Bid to privatize Pa. Lottery's management extended by a week

Jul 2, 2013, 9:36 am (1 comment)

Pennsylvania Lottery

The British firm that is seeking to take over management of the Pennsylvania Lottery's management for the next 20 to 30 years has agreed to extend its bid's expiration date by a week.

The bid from Camelot Global Services was due to expire on Sunday.

Gov. Tom Corbett mentioned the extension during his post-budget news conference.

In its bid that originally was to expire Dec. 31 and has been extended now seven times, Camelot committed to generating lottery profits of $34.6 billion over the next 20 years to fund programs for senior citizens. The administration estimate that is $3 billion to $4.5 billion more than the lottery would produce by keeping it in-house.

The last extension was granted after state Attorney General Kathleen Kane rejected the proposed contract with Camelot on constitutional and legal grounds. The administration has said they are working on addressing those issues and plan to resubmit another contract proposal to Kane.

Kane has said she stands ready to review the contract when it is presented to her. As for her decision to reject the original contract, she told the crowd at last month's Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon, "My decision was very simple. It was according to the law. It wasn't a policy decision. It was strictly by the law and we're proud of the job we did."

Lottery workers say they remain on pins and needles about the fate of their jobs since as many as 170 positions would be eliminated. However, administration officials have said they would find jobs for those who choose not to seek employment with Camelot.

There was an attempt being explored in recent days at possibly including language in a state budget-related bill to get around Kane's objections to the deal. Some consideration was given to specifically granting the Revenue secretary, whose department oversees the lottery, authority to outsource certain aspects of the lottery, including the day-to-day management. But that effort fizzled.

Patriot-News

Comments

jamella724

I think the extension of the bid is beneficial to the Pennsylvania Lottery's management is good so they can attract other bidders. They will have ample time to study the offer of different bidder. They need to opt for the best bidder the one that will generate good revenue for the state.

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