Northstar Lottery Group Presents Proposal for Illinois Lottery Private Manager Contract

CHICAGO, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Northstar Lottery Group, a consortium of best-in-class companies with more than 50 years combined experience in Illinois, presented today its proposal to serve as the private manager of the Illinois Lottery at a public hearing held by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Northstar Lottery Group is led by a partnership between GTECH Corporation and Scientific Games Corporation.  Supporting the Group as its advertising partner is Energy BBDO, the Chicago-based unit of BBDO Worldwide, the most awarded agency network in the world.  

"We are confident that our proposed plan will achieve long-term, sustainable and responsible growth for the Illinois Lottery and substantially improve financial returns for good causes around the state," said GTECH President and CEO Jaymin Patel. "An experienced team has been identified and will be ready immediately to begin executing the plan. Northstar Lottery Group is the best choice to meet the needs of the state of Illinois."

Scientific Games President and CEO Michael Chambrello said, "Attracting new players and new markets will be critical to responsibly growing the Lottery while driving returns to Illinois and its residents.  Responsible gaming is at the heart of our plan. There's no team better suited than Northstar to take the Illinois Lottery into the future and the top tier of U.S. lotteries."

Central to the Northstar Lottery Group's business plan is a commitment to Illinois charities and supplier diversity.

• Five percent of Northstar Lottery Group's profits will go to support non-profit organizations serving their communities throughout Illinois. There is no cap on the amount that may be spent over the 10-year span of the contract.
• At least 20 percent of lottery supplier and vendor contracts will be awarded to women, racial and ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities

Guiding Northstar Lottery Group's community partnerships, diversity initiatives and overall operations is a six-member Board of Advisors comprised of civic and business leaders from across the state.  

Chaired by former Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine, the Board of Advisors includes: Karen Hasara, former Mayor of Springfield; Manuel Sanchez, founding partner at Sanchez, Daniels & Hoffman, LLP; David Gupta, President and CEO of System Development Integration; Sharon Gist Gilliam, former CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority; and Rufus Williams, President and CEO of Olympus, LLC.  More information on Northstar Lottery Group's Board of Advisors can be found at www.northstarlotterygroup.net.

The State's new business model will give the private manager much more flexibility and accountability over Lottery operations. In addition to providing lottery technologies to the state, the Northstar Group will now have the opportunity to implement innovative marketing initiatives and management tools to maximize revenues.

GTECH is a leading gaming operations and technology solutions company. With 7,500 people in more than 50 countries when combined with Lottomatica Group, GTECH provides operations management, innovative technology, creative content, and superior service delivery to effectively manage and grow today's evolving gaming markets. GTECH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lottomatica Group, one of the world's largest commercial lottery operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry. For more information about GTECH, please visit www.gtech.com.

Scientific Games Corporation is a leading integrated supplier of instant tickets, systems and services to lotteries worldwide, a leading supplier of server based gaming machines and systems, Amusement and Skill with Prize betting terminals, interactive sports betting terminals and systems, and wagering systems and services to pari-mutuel operators. It is also a licensed pari-mutuel gaming operator in Connecticut, Maine and the Netherlands and is a leading supplier of prepaid phone cards to telephone companies. Scientific Games' customers are in the United States and more than 50 other countries. For more information about Scientific Games, please visit www.scientificgames.com.

Energy BBDO is a full-service advertising agency based in Chicago, and a unit of BBDO Worldwide. BBDO is part of Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company.

SOURCE Northstar Lottery Group