Lottery Deal Raises Questions
By: Kevin Flanigan
Updated: January 14, 2013
ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY - The Corbett Administration has finalized an agreement to turn management control of the Pennsylvania Lottery over to a private company. But there are still plenty of questions being asked about how the deal could affect lottery funded programs.
While it appears the Corbett Administration's contract with Camelot Global Services remains in place, both in Harrisburg and at some area Senior Centers, there is still a lot of interest in how this deal will affect lottery funded programs.
A substantial portion of the budget for Blair Senior Services comes directly from money generated by the Pennsylvania lottery. With all sorts of programs for seniors currently supported by Pennsylvania lottery profits, the people in charge of Blair Senior Services say any change to the amount of earmarked funding generated by lottery would be a big deal for their operations.
The same concerns for the people who receive lottery funded benefits came up during a Senate Finance Committee meeting in Harrisburg where the lottery deal came under a public examination for the first time. Several members of the Finance Committee used the hearing to raise concerns about how future lottery profits, and the people who benefit from them, will be affected.
Governor Corbett is expected to sign the final contract on the Camelot lottery deal as early as the end of this week. That will start a 30 day review period which will be followed by a year long transition of control of the lottery to the British Company. Additional legal challenges are expected along the way.
While it appears the Corbett Administration's contract with Camelot Global Services remains in place, both in Harrisburg and at some area Senior Centers, there is still a lot of interest in how this deal will affect lottery funded programs.
A substantial portion of the budget for Blair Senior Services comes directly from money generated by the Pennsylvania lottery. With all sorts of programs for seniors currently supported by Pennsylvania lottery profits, the people in charge of Blair Senior Services say any change to the amount of earmarked funding generated by lottery would be a big deal for their operations.
The same concerns for the people who receive lottery funded benefits came up during a Senate Finance Committee meeting in Harrisburg where the lottery deal came under a public examination for the first time. Several members of the Finance Committee used the hearing to raise concerns about how future lottery profits, and the people who benefit from them, will be affected.
Governor Corbett is expected to sign the final contract on the Camelot lottery deal as early as the end of this week. That will start a 30 day review period which will be followed by a year long transition of control of the lottery to the British Company. Additional legal challenges are expected along the way.
