Lottery bid extended to allow administration planning time

One day after the signed contract between the commonwealth and Camelot Global Services was rejected by the state attorney general, negotiators were reportedly “bleary-eyed” as they worked to postpone a decision deadline on the deal through this Friday.

A state Revenue Department spokeswoman said extending the bid by a week allows the administration more time to consider its response to the rejection of the contract with Camelot by the state attorney general. The governor could appeal Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s decision in Commonwealth Court.

Kane announced last Thursday the contract with Camelot failed a routine legality review because it violates both the state constitution and state law.

The bid was set to expire Saturday afternoon. Without a bid extension, there would have been no penalties, but Camelot would have gotten back its $50 million bid security.

This is the third major bid extension of the lottery deal, which would turn the operations of the $3.5 billion enterprise over to Camelot, which guarantees it can boost profits.

The commonwealth is also facing a lawsuit to stop the privatization of the Pennsylvania Lottery, filed by the union representing most of the lottery’s employees and several Democratic state lawmakers.