State Treasurer Rob McCord said today that his office could refuse to disburse money to a private lottery manager if the methods it chooses to grow Pennsylvania Lottery revenues are not properly authorized under state law.
The concerns are based on the fact that some gaming expansions could require legislative authorization or approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, according to release from McCord’s office.
A draft of a private management agreement under which the state could bring in a private manager, as is being pursued by Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration, is “vague” in what new market opportunities such a manager will pursue to grow revenues.
The state is considering a $34 billion bid that is valid until Dec. 31 for private management services for the lottery, which funds programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians to the tune of about $1 billion per year.
The bid is from Camelot Global Services PA LLC and includes annual profit commitments starting with about $1.1 billion in the first year and growing to roughly $2 billion by the 20th year, according to a publicly available bid form.
The administration has pursued such an agreement to help keep revenue growth up with the state’s growing population of seniors, but critics have called for transparency and to slow down before such an agreement is made.
