Record Lottery Sales and Revenues Prompt Request
Harrisburg – July 19, 2013 – Citing yesterday’s announcement by the Pennsylvania Lottery of record sales and revenues for the 2012-13 Fiscal Year, Senate Democrats released a letter that was sent to Gov. Tom Corbett today asking that he immediately end plans to privatize the Lottery.
The Lottery announced yesterday that it finished the 2012-13 fiscal year with $3.69 billion in sales and an excess of $1 billion in net revenues, which are well above the previous year and prior all-time sales record of $3.48 billion.
Corbett has aggressively pursued a plan to privatize the management of the Lottery. He contracted with a foreign-based British company to run the operation. Corbett’s plan was halted earlier this year when Attorney General Kathleen Kane rejected the contract on constitutional and statutory grounds. The governor has since sought one extension after another with the company to keep the possibility of privatization alive.
Sen. Jay Costa, the Democratic leader said that given the recent sales record and revenue increase, the reduction in administrative costs and the benefits that the lottery provides to seniors and the economy it would be foolish to pursue privatization. Costa said Senate Democrats believe it is important to restate their objections to the privatization scheme and to send those sentiments to the governor.
In the letter to Corbett, Senate Democrats wrote that given the Lottery’s success as a commonwealth agency, “it is difficult to fathom why your administration — or any public official for that matter — would still be pursuing the privatization of the Lottery.
“It is time to publicly announce that you are ending the plan to privatize the Lottery so that we can move on to other important public policy issues that result in job creation, more investment in education and repairs to the social safety net,” Costa said in the letter.
“The continued pursuit of privatization by the governor is a waste of energy and money,” Costa said.
Editor’s note: View Senate Democrats letter to Gov. Corbett.
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