Corbett extends Pa. Lottery bid another two months

Gov. Tom Corbett’s effort to hire a private firm to manage the $3.7 billion Pennsylvania Lottery will be allowed continue past the latest deadline, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for Corbett’s Department of Revenue, which oversees the lottery, said Camelot Global Services had agreed to extend the life of the company’s bid until Oct. 29. The deadline was Friday.

The extension is the eighth agreed to by the operator of British national lottery. Mr. Corbett, a Republican who is a proponent of privatizing government services, began searching for a private manager in early 2012 and chose the only bidder, Camelot, in January.

State Attorney General Kathleen Kane rejected the proposed contract with Camelot in February. Ms. Kane said state law did not allow the governor to privatize lottery management or sanction the expansion of gambling the contract would permit. Her office also concluded that a management fee that Camelot can claim was unconstitutional.

Mr. Corbett’s staff has been working to rewrite the agreement to overcome Ms. Kane’s objections. It still faces a legal challenge from a state employees’ union, as well as a threat from state Treasurer Rob McCord that he will not cut checks to Camelot unless he is satisfied that its plans to expand gambling are legal.