Scratch this off the to-do list. Scientific Games and the Pennsylvania Lottery remain partnered for the next decade.
The Nevada company will serve as the primary supplier for scratch-off games and related distribution services, the lottery, and the company announced.
SG was also selected as the vendor to provide lottery gaming system services across a network of nearly 10,000 retailers. Scientific Games has served the lottery since its inception. The company has 70% of global sales of the instant lottery business.
And a Canadian company, Pollard Banknote Limited, is now also a secondary supplier for instant tickets.
Doug Pollard, co-chief executive officer of Pollard Banknote said:
“Pollard Banknote is looking forward to partnering with the Pennsylvania Lottery to make our solutions and products available to the Lottery. The Pennsylvania Lottery is an incredible organization that has proven to be a trailblazer in the industry. Ultimately, the Lottery’s success translates into more funding for programs for older Pennsylvanians. “
Reinventing the Pennsylvania Lottery
The Pennsylvania Lottery is approaching its 50th anniversary. Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said of the new contracts and the vendors:
“We couldn’t be more excited to start working with these business partners to reinvent the Lottery and position it for future growth. We sought a modern lottery solution that provides the best overall value for the Lottery and for the Commonwealth.
“By realizing the benefits of new and emerging technologies, with the highest level of integrity and security, the Lottery can ensure funding for programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians for many years to come.”
Svitko added:
“Scientific Games was chosen to help us modernize our business so that we will be able to have a continuing impact on the programs that Pennsylvania seniors rely on every day.
The PA Lottery benefits older Pennsylvanians by providing things like:
- Free meals
- Transportation
- Care services
- Tax relief
- Prescription assistance
$1 billion+ in yearly profits for PA Lottery
Scientific Games said they have a proven record of partnering with the PA Lottery to responsibly “drive record proceeds,” including ten consecutive years of $1 billion+ profits for programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians.
Under SG’s current contracts, from the fiscal year 2009-10 to the fiscal year 2020-21, the Pennsylvania Lottery performed above industry averages, with total retail sales growing over 73% for a more than $2.2 billion annual increase.
The company’s innovative scratch-off games scored them the contract in addition to:
- Supply chain logistics
- Retailer equipment solutions
- Enterprise applications,
- Analytics services
- Sales tools
Scientific Games launched the world’s first secure retail instant game in 1974. The first digital instant game in the U.S. came in 2014.
Each of the two contracts is renewable for up to four years.
Last December, Penn Live reported Scientific Games International was selected in a bid competition for a $50 million iLottery contract that also comes with a possibility of three optional one-year renewals that could extend this relationship for a total of 10 years. That contract is separate from the new award.
In June, the lottery also announced it would become the first operator to launch its iLottery content through Scientific Games’ OpenGaming technology. That was after SG became the exclusive distributor of SidePlay Entertainment’s e-Instant games portfolio across North America.
PA iLottery launched in 2018
Scientific Games launched Pennsylvania’s online games in 2018. The Pennsylvania iLottery program has had one of the most commercially successful launches. It is the first in the U.S. to reach $1 billion in sales in fewer than two years.
The lottery ranks among the top-performing lotteries globally, with total retail sales of more than $4.9 billion last fiscal year. It is fifth for instant game sales per capita and ninth for total sales per capita.
Scientific Games also launched the first payment card industry-approved cashless lottery program in the U.S. for the PA Lottery. They also developed customized technology for retail lottery self-service machines.
Pat McHugh, Lottery Group Chief Executive for Scientific Games, said:
“Scientific Games’ investment in retail and digital games, technology and services in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Lottery has helped shape the player experience for the lottery industry.
In late September, SG had announced entering into a definitive agreement to sell its sports betting business, OpenBet, to Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc., a global sports and entertainment company, for cash and stock valued at $1.2 billion. The transaction should close in the second quarter of 2022, pending regulatory approvals.
