Supplier News
US – Scientific joins Twin River’s bid to dismantle IGT’s Rhode Island Lottery contract
By Phil - 23 October 2019
Scientific Games has joined the Twin River partnership which is seeking a public bid process for the Rhode Island lottery contract currently held by IGT. The State is considering a 20-year, no-bid billion dollar extension to the IGT contract which expires in 2023.
Marc Crisafulli, Executive Vice President of TRWH, said the addition of Scientific Games strengthened an already formidable partnership of gaming and technology companies hoping to compete for the state lottery contract.
“Today’s announcement that Scientific Games has joined Twin River is further proof that there is significant interest in bidding for Rhode Island’s lottery and gaming business, with virtually the entire global lottery industry now confirming that they will participate if an open competitive bidding process develops in Rhode Island. We believe this is ultimately very good news for the Rhode Island taxpayers. We look forward to continuing our conversation with members of the General Assembly about the efficacy of a public bid process, the extraordinary savings to the State that likely could be realised when competition enters the marketplace and how we can collaboratively protect and enhance the State’s third largest source of revenue.”
He added: “The lottery programs managed by Scientific Games in New England states far outperform IGT’s Rhode Island lottery programs. IGT’s Instant Game program in Rhode Island is performing 75 per cent lower sales averages than the national weekly per capita sales average. Among a peer group of US lotteries of similar size, Rhode Island has the lowest growth rate for revenue over the past eight years, and the lowest growth rate for draw games for the last decade.”
He continued: “Scientific Games is well known to us. Their machines in our two Rhode Island facilities outperformed IGT-controlled machines by over 50 per cent last year, delivering on average over $31,000 more per machine to the State of Rhode Island taxpayers. They have a successful track record of understanding player preferences and delivering products that exceed customer expectations. The New England gaming market has become increasingly competitive, and the addition of Scientific Games to our team is an important part of enhancing our ability to compete and deliver positive results for Rhode Island.”
Patrick McHugh, Executive Vice President and Group Chief Executive, Lottery, said: “As the only full-service lottery provider headquartered in the United States, Scientific Games is very excited about bringing our global leadership in lottery and gaming products to Rhode Island in a more meaningful way. We are confident that our products will improve the performance of Rhode Island Lottery programs and create millions of dollars in new revenue for the State. We are pleased to formalize our commitment to bidding with the Twin River/Camelot consortium. There are tremendous synergies created by our companies coming together to deliver a competitive package that seeks to increase Lottery sales and profits for Rhode Island.” He continued, “Scientific Games values the trust our 150 lottery customers have placed in us throughout 50 countries worldwide and look forward to helping make Rhode Island the leading lottery performer it should be.”
The Twin River consortium proposal thus far includes a commitment to provide 1,100 jobs created in Rhode Island backed up by a $100m guarantee to the State if the jobs commitment falls short;
It would sign a 12-year contract with an approximate cost to the State of Rhode Island less than $500m versus the current IGT contract [that carries with it] over $1bn in costs to the State, and if the State prefers a 20 year contract an upfront payment of $75m, $50m more than IGT for the same contract term. It would also invest $50mat Twin River to include new amenities and facility upgrades as part of the overall commitment to invest $150m.
