State of Illinois and Northstar Lottery Group sign private management agreement

[January 19, 2011]  CHICAGO -- The state of Illinois finalized a management agreement Tuesday with Northstar Lottery Group, making it the first private manager of the Illinois Lottery. Northstar, a consortium of experienced gaming and advertising professionals, was selected based on a rigorous and competitive procurement process.

Northstar's business plan anticipates an annual growth rate of 10.6 percent over the next five years. The consortium's proposal guaranteed a minimum profit level for each of the first five years of the agreement. The increase in proceeds will enable the state to maintain its commitment to education, while funding capital projects that will create jobs for thousands of Illinois workers.

This new agreement will grow the revenue generated by the Illinois Lottery, which benefits the Illinois Common School Fund and the Capital Projects Fund. Illinois Jobs Now, signed by Gov. Quinn in 2009, is a job-creating infrastructure development act that will provide 439,000 new jobs to the state. Funding for the program comes, in part, through increased lottery revenues expected from the new private management structure created by the Illinois General Assembly during the 2009 legislative session.

The Northstar Lottery Group consortium is comprised of GTECH, Scientific Games and Energy BBDO. It was selected based on its superior business plan to provide more than $4.8 billion in revenue to the state in the first five years alone. Northstar has also made responsible gaming a core principle of its operations, which is a key component of any gaming operation in Illinois.

[Text from Illinois Lottery file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]