Gaming Giants Bidding For Illinois Lottery Contract

Four huge gaming firms are bidding on the Illinois lottery contract and two of these gaming giants have teamed up to bid on the 10 year contract. Both firms, GTECH Corp. and Scientific Games Inc., have had contracts for instant lotto tickets and lottery equipment since 1989. GTECH, which is based in Rhode Island has been a major player in the gaming industry and is a subsidiary of Lottomatica which is the world's largest lottery operator. According to GTECH , both companies control 63% of all lotteries around the world giving both companies extensive experience in operating lotteries.

GTECH currently provides Illinois with lottery terminals and ticket dispensers at lottery retailers throughout Illinois and also provides the central gaming system computer that operates the terminals. Last year the Illinois legislature indicated they wanted to move the state lottery towards private management. Lawmakers hope private management will boost sales by an additional $150 million which would be used to fund infrastructure projects. Illinois lottery revenues have remained steady at about $2 billion dollars a year. Illinois had considered total privatization of the lottery until the Justice Department ruled that states cannot relinquish control of lotteries.

Other gaming giants bidding on the Illinois contract include Camelot from the UK. Camelot has extensive experience running the UK National Lottery. Intralot S.A., based in Greece, is also expected to bid. Illinois is also considering online lottery ticket sales and most of the firms bidding on the Illinois lottery contract have experience providing online lotto ticket sales. At the present time confusing federal regulations regarding online gambling are preventing several states from implementing online lottery ticket sales. Thanks to a new bill introduced in congress all that may change in the very near future.

If the regulations are changed and Illinois is successful in implementing online lottery ticket sales most states are expected to follow. Most players say they would purchase lottery tickets online citing convenience as the main reason for online purchases. Players would no longer have to make a trip to a lottery retailer and stand in long lines to buy lotto tickets. Most states with lotteries already have lottery websites and it would be very easy to add online ticket sales. The technology and software for online ticket sales are readily available and most of the firms bidding on the Illinois contract are ready to launch online ticket sales. It will be very interesting to see the results of the bidding war.