Texas Lottery scratch card contract up for grabs
AUSTIN, TX – Scratch cards are the most popular games in most state lotteries and in Texas this is no different with the instant games accounting for almost three-quarters of the Texas Lottery’s $3.8 billion sales revenue for the fiscal year 2011.
The contract to provide the Texas Lottery with its scratch cards is up for grabs again and the big three lottery ticket printers, Scientific Games Corp., Pollard Banknote and GTECH battle it out for one of the most lucrative scratch card contracts in the United States, thought to be worth around $16 million per year to the winner.
With 90 new scratch card games issued in the past year, the Texas Lottery contract will keep the winners busy as it introduces the most new instant games per year in the whole of North America.
Of the companies likely to bid for the contract, all three have some vested in the Texas Lottery already. Scientific Games International is the primary vendor for the current instant ticket agreement and is likely to bid again. GTECH Corp is currently the lottery’s overall operator and a secondary instant ticket vendor whilst Pollard Banknote is another secondary scratch-off vendor.
With all three companies already involved in scratch card provision for Texas, it is not unthinkable that they will all provide some of the tickets during the next contract.
According to the Standard-Times, GTECH is spending between $400,000 and $600,000 this year on four lobbyists, according to filings with the Texas Ethics Commission. Cliff Johnson, a friend and former aide to Gov. Rick Perry, is on the GTECH lobby team, along with Reggie Bashur, another lobbyist close to Perry.
Scientific Games is spending between $100,000 and $200,000 on four lobbyists. Among them are Luis Saenz, the campaign manager for Perry during his 2006 run for governor, and former Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis.
Pollard Banknote is the only potential bidder not to employ lobbyists to help them gain the contract.
GTECH is the current overall operator of the Texas Lottery having won a nine year contract worth $750 million from its rivals.
Published: November 10, 2011
