Illinois Lottery to be run privately
Tuesday July 13th 2010It has been announced that the Illinois Lottery is to be run privately under a management firm for the next decade. This is the first move of this kind for any lottery game in the US and the new approach is hoped to generate more sales and revenue for a state that is reliant on the lottery for funding in education, as are many states. The Illinois Lottery generates more than $600 million a year for the benefit of state schools and currently prides itself as having one of the lowest running costs in the country.
As a private management firm running a lottery in the US has never been done before, there are no guarantees that more money can be raised through the move but officials feel if they can find a company that will run the Illinois Lottery with lower running costs, then is has to be worth looking into.
Officials are currently accepting proposals from private companies on how they could manage the day to day running of the Illinois Lottery and will continue to accept these proposals until the end of the month. When considering proposals the state will be looking at the core functions of the lottery and how they will be managed such as, game developments, marketing and advertising. However, the state will still retain overall control of the lottery and proposals will need to include how companies plan to work with existing officials.
Proposals are also asked to include a plan to enable players to buy lotto tickets online. Although internet sales are currently banned by federal government, it is hoped that current negotiations with the Department of Justice will work in favour of the Illinois Lottery.