Northstar Lottery Group Signs Private Management Agreement with Illinois Lottery

CHICAGO, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Northstar Lottery Group today announced the signing of a 10-year private management agreement with the Illinois Lottery. Under the agreement, Northstar, subject to the Lottery's oversight, will manage day-to-day operations and marketing initiatives in an effort to maximize lottery revenues and returns to fund education and the capital program in Illinois.

Northstar Lottery Group is led by a partnership between GTECH Corporation and Scientific Games International, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific Games Corporation (Nasdaq: SGMS).  Supporting the Group as its advertising partner is Chicago-based Energy BBDO.

"Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the 36-year history of the Illinois Lottery," said Illinois Lottery Acting Superintendent Jodie Winnett. "We welcome our new partners in offering exciting, fun games to lottery players, revenue growth for our retailers and significant positive returns to good causes in Illinois."

Over the first five years of the agreement, Northstar expects to generate approximately $5.2 billion in profit to the state. Its plan for lottery growth hinges on attracting new players in new markets and doubling the number of lottery retailers throughout Illinois while embedding responsible gaming principles across all of its operations.

"The Northstar Lottery Group has developed a business plan to generate approximately $5.2 billion of profit to the State of Illinois over the first five years of the 10-year agreement. This plan will leverage our team's diverse and successful worldwide experience to benefit Illinois communities and residents," said Northstar Chairman and GTECH President & CEO Jaymin B. Patel. "The major drivers of this growth include retailer expansion and optimization, online and instant game optimization and the introduction of new games, all supported and driven by a comprehensive re-branding program."

"We are very excited about this opportunity and firmly believe that the Illinois Lottery, operating under this innovative new model, has the potential to become one of the top-performing lotteries in the United States in terms of sales and returns," said Scientific Games Chairman and CEO Lorne Weil.

In anticipation of signing the long-term management agreement, Northstar Lottery Group has begun building its operations here in Illinois and conducting outreach to community and minority business organizations around the state.  

A key foundation of Northstar's business plan is to work with a high percentage of diverse suppliers and vendors. Northstar has committed to issuing more than 20 percent of its supplier and vendor contracts to businesses owned by women, racial and ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities. Procurement opportunities can be found at www.northstarlottery.net with additional listings posted over the next few weeks.  

Northstar will also donate five percent of its profits to non-profit community organizations in Illinois.

"Responsible practices are at the heart of our business plan, and will play a critical role in helping Northstar drive Illinois' Lottery sales from $2.2 billion in 2010 to more than $4.5 billion in 2016," said Northstar CEO Connie Laverty O'Connor.  "We also recognize that people play the lottery because they have fun doing it, and that's why we are going to create new and innovative games that bring excitement to every type of player."

The Northstar team will collaborate with a six-member board of advisors comprised of respected civic and business leaders across Illinois. Former Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine chairs the committee, which guides Northstar's community partnerships, diversity initiatives and charitable contributions.

For more information about Northstar Lottery Group, please visit www.northstarlottery.net.

About GTECH

GTECH is a leading gaming operations and technology solutions company. With 7,600 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.

About Scientific Games

Scientific Games Corporation is a global leader in providing customized, end-to-end gaming solutions to lottery and gaming organizations worldwide. Scientific Games' integrated array of products and services include instant lottery games, lottery gaming systems, terminals and services, and internet applications, as well as server-based interactive gaming machines and associated gaming control systems. Scientific Games serves customers in approximately 50 countries. For more information, please visit our web site at www.scientificgames.com.

About Energy BBDO

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