Lawmakers in Rhode Island are considering a bill that would give International Game Technology a 20-year contract extension for providing games and the system for the Rhode Island Lottery in a no-bid deal worth upwards of $1 billion.
According to a report in the Providence Journal, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo negotiated the deal, and presented it to lawmakers late in last year’s session. The deal was included in one of several bills introduced last week as the new session got under way.
The bill includes a job guarantee that advocates say will compensate for the high overall cost, requiring IGT and the lottery to “employ, cause to be employed by an affiliate or a person providing outsourcing, technology consulting or temporary employment services to IGT or an affiliate … 1,100 FTEs (full-time equivalent jobs)… at compensation rates not less than 150 percent of the minimum wage.”
An independent analysis by Christiansen Capital Advisors questioned the wisdom of giving IGT a 20-year contract extension on a no-bid basis, saying, “By entering into this contract, (Rhode Island legislators) would also be locking in gambling policy for the next 23 years.”
IGT runs a central monitoring system for thousands of video lottery terminals at the Twin River casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton.
