 June 5 - GTECH, a Lottomatica subsidiary that has run the Ohio State
Lottery since 1984, will be granted permission to submit its complaints to
the State Controlling Board, after the company lost out it a bid to continue its
contract to its rival, the Greek Intralot.
The decision to finalize the deal between the state and Intralot has
been put on hold as GTECH officials meet with officials this week.
In a formal protest filed last week, GTECH stated that Intralot lacked the
necessary experience and infrastructure needed to deal with the 10th largest
lottery in the United States. The company also complained over the fact that
Intralot had lied in in its bid requirements when it had stated that it had
never been fined for performance related issues.
Another complaint raised by GTECH was the fact that lottery officials lowered
the bidding requirements to allow Intralot to compete, even though one of the
main requirements was that all companies have previous experience in dealing
with a contract as large as the Ohio State Lottery.
GTECH's current contract is due to run out this month, and the company was
told by state officials several weeks ago that the contract would not be
renewed, following Intralot's successful bid. It was reported that the
Greek company would be awarded a one year transition contract, followed by a
further two year contract that could be renewed up to four times.
However, after several board members were made aware of GTECH's protests,
they agreed to put the final contract signing on hold until GTECH could plead
its case and clarify any outstanding matters. While analysts are skeptical
whether GTECH's efforts will bear any fruit, they are saying that there is still
a possibility that the decision may be reversed if enough evidence is produced.
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