Tag Archives: illinois
Gaming Giants Bidding For Illinois Lottery Contract
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.
Illinois to Offer Online Lottery Ticket Sales
Illinois to Offer Online Lottery Ticket Sales
A proposal in the Illinois legislature would allow the sale of Illinois state lotto tickets online. The proposal was spurred by lagging lottery ticket sales due to the economy. The move is expected to boost sales but there may be a catch.
Since its passage in 2006 using the most dishonest methods to insure passage, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) has had a lot of unintended consequences. In New Hampshire citizens buying state lotto tickets with a credit card at lotto terminals have found their transactions blocked by their banks due to the vague regulations set forth in the UIGEA.
Even though state lotteries are legal under the law many banks have shown that they will block any transactions they are unsure of. Enforcement of UIGEA was foisted on the banks with no government funding to compensate banks for their new law enforcement responsibilities.
Illinois Senate President, John Cullerton hopes that online lotto ticket sales will increase lottery revenues by as much as $300 million dollars. If financial institutions block transactions revenues will in all likelihood remain flat. The financial industry had predicted that the vague regulations would cause many problems and these are just beginning to surface. These predictions were ignored by the federal government which went ahead and passed UIGEA to pander to a tiny minority of anti gambling activists.
Hopefully the difficulties faced by New Hampshire and Illinois will prompt legislators to take another look at UIGEA. The law has caused many problems among them a dispute now in front of the World Trade Organization between Antigua and the United States and all indications are that the decision will be favorable to Antigua.
Should the Illinois lottery manage to solve the problems of online lottery ticket sales other states may follow and citizens will be able to enjoy the convenience of buying lottery tickets online. Several other states are thinking about allowing the sale of online lottery tickets. Many other states are trying to boost ticket sales and fill empty state coffers. Many states have been hard hit by the current recession and are trying to find original funding solutions.
The technology is already in place for the sale of online lottery tickets. Most players say they would welcome the ability to make an online lottery purchase from their home computers or cell phones. Players could also check state lottery websites for up to date lottery information and news. Several states may implement the sale of online lottery tickets as early as 2010.