N.J. overturns lottery contract

Saturday, October 21, 2006 posted 05:31 PM EDT

New Jersey decided Friday to toss out a Lottery Commission contract awarded to a company whose Trenton lobbyist was also doing public relations for the lottery itself, saying the award created a "troubling impression."

The issue locked the nation's two major lottery-management companies into conflict over which would oversee New Jersey's lottery for the next five years.

The companies manufacture and provide computers, tickets and dispensers, and other state-lottery hardware and software.

The companies are GTech Corporation of West Greenwich, R.I., which had landed the contract, and Scientific Games International of New York City, which lost the work despite its low bid.

The decision by State Treasurer Bradley Abelow means the bid process will be reopened after GTech had bid nearly $32 million more than Scientific Games.

GTech had bid $106.7 million to do the work, and had hired the MWW Group, which was doing public relations for the Lottery Commission, as its lobbyist in Trenton.

Scientific Games had bid $75 million.

"Although there has not been any testimony or other evidence to suggest MWW had any actual effect on the evaluation process," Abelow said, "it is our determination that the potential conflict presented by the exchange between MWW and GTech created a sufficiently troubling impression as to warrant a re-bid of this procurement."

He also ordered future bidders to include any conflicts of interest they may possess.

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