Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Corbett wins time to try to save lottery deal

The Corbett administration has persuaded a British firm to keep alive its bid to run the Pennsylvania Lottery past a Saturday expiration deadline, gaining time to try to overcome a ruling by the attorney general rejecting the privatization deal as unlawful.

The Corbett administration has persuaded a British firm to keep alive its bid to run the Pennsylvania Lottery past a Saturday expiration deadline, gaining time to try to overcome a ruling by the attorney general rejecting the privatization deal as unlawful.

The firm has agreed to keep the bid valid until next Friday, Elizabeth Brassell, spokeswoman for the state revenue department, said this evening.

The two sides had worked feverishly behind the scenes to negotiate the extension.

The change was necessary because last week state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, whose office reviews all state contracts for their legality, rejected the administration's deal with Camelot Global Services as running afoul of the state constitution.

Among other things, Kane said that the contract usurped the authority of the legislature to regulate and manage the lottery.

Now that the governor has persuaded Camelot to extend the bid deadline, he still has to decide how to respond to Kane's decision. Corbett could challenge Kane's ruling in court, but the administration has not said whether that is the course it will take.

The Democratic attorney general's ruling was a blow to months of efforts by the Republican governor to conclude the lottery deal.

The stakes are high. The Pennsylvania Lottery last fiscal year recorded more than $3.5 billion in sales and sent more than $1 billion in profits to programs that help the elderly.

The administration says rapid growth of the state's senior population necessitates exploring ways to boost those profits. Across the life of its proposed 20-year contract, Camelot would guarantee profits of $34 billion.

Even if Corbett manages to get the deal back on track, another challenge awaits in court - from Democratic legislators and the union that represents lottery employees.