IGT Global Solutions Corp. has reached an agreement with the California Lottery to extend its current contract for seven years, through Oct. 31, 2026.
The California Lottery is the second-largest in the United States, generating $91.4 billion in sales and contributing nearly $31 billion to public education since its inception in 1985.
The contract had been set to expire Oct. 13, 2019. Lottery officials, in consultation with representatives of the California Department of Technology, concluded that extending the contract with IGT was the most cost-effective way to continue, rather than opening a new RFP process and potentially starting a new system with a different vendor.
"We look forward to using this opportunity to further strengthen our partnership with the California Lottery and its retailers through the deployment of leading-edge solutions," said Jay Gendron, an IGT senior vice president.
Under the extension, IGT will provide the Lottery with new tools and applications to support the Lottery's player and retailer base, and enhance the back-office suite. According to IGT, this new platform includes:
— Aurora Navigator, a new user-friendly, back-office suite that will provide the tools the California Lottery will require to manage its business and maximize productivity;
— OpenRetail, a new retail solution software architecture that will enable the California Lottery to deploy a single terminal application across multiple types of retailer devices, reducing complexity and time to market, and creating new retailer expansion opportunities; and
— Performance Wizard, a comprehensive, dashboard-driven solution for analytics and business intelligence.
IGT is paid via sales-based commissions, equipment purchases and maintenance, and software development fees. IGT's commission ranges from 1.36 percent for sales under $4 billion, and declines as sales go up. After $7 billion in sales, the commission is 1 percent. Under the contract extension, the sales commission rate drops 15 percent. In addition, IGT will upgrade the Lottery's existing gaming system and upgrade equipment.
Additionally, the California Lottery will receive more than 19,000 Altura GT1200 Flex retailer terminals, offering a smaller footprint to optimize retail space, while continuing to offer a highly configurable platform. IGT's Ticket-Scan Plus ticket checkers allow players to check the win status of their own instant and draw-based tickets. IGT will also deliver its Gemini Ultra self-service lottery vending machine. The Lottery will also receive new monitors for multimedia advertising as well as HotSpot draw shows.
IGT will continue to provide support and maintenance of the central system, communications network, and more than 140,000 points-of-sale in over 22,000 retailer locations; field services; marketing and research services; consumables; and call center support.
The Lottery estimates that under the terms of the new contract, the state could save $480 million through October 2026.
