On June 14th, 2008, the Ohio Lottery has decided to stick with Intralot as their new vendor despite complaints from the previous gaming organization that the Ohio Lottery has been doing business together with more than twenty years.
In a formal letter to GTECH Corporation, Ohio Lottery Director Michael Dolan dismissed the claims of GTECH, a Rhode Island based gaming organization, that the Ohio Lottery did not follow the correct procedure in processing the bidding process for keno when it had given the gaming contract to Intralot Incorporated. Intralot is a Greek-based gaming company but has a based in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Lottery contract awarded to Intralot is estimated to be worth $170 million and will last for ten years. Part of that contract would also the brand new game of keno, which Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio has pushed to be included in the Ohio Lottery to help the state in dealing with its budget deficit.
The Controlling Board of the Ohio still needs to give its approval to the game of keno but decided to wait for the decision regarding the GTECH appeal regarding the outcome of the bidding process. GTECH commented that it is currently studying the decision of the Ohio Lottery and would not discount the possibility of filing a lawsuit.
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Louis Blechdom
