程阳：绕红灯，英国卡梅洛特公司欲接管美国加州彩票
2011-11-11 01:11阅读：
程阳：绕红灯，英国公司欲接管美国加州彩票
British firm seeks to manage
California Lottery, boost sales, profit
http://www.lotteryinsider.com/lottery/camelot.htm
British firm seeks to manage California Lottery, boost sales,
profit
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
By Dale Kasler The Sacramento Bee
Last modified: 2011-11-07T00:28:39Z
Published: Saturday,
Nov. 5, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 4:28 pm
Offering a $1 billion sweetener, a British company and one of
Sacramento's leading lobbyists are pushing a proposal to privately
run part of the California Lottery.
The company, Camelot Group, operates the United Kingdom's
national lottery and consults for the state agency that runs the
California games.
Camelot has approached Gov. Jerry Brown's office with an
offer to manage the lottery's sales and marketing. By spicing up
ticket sales, the firm said it could generate far higher profits
for the state – and would pay the state an upfront fee of as much
$1 billion.
The increased profits would be shared by Camelot and the
state. The state's share would go to public education, which
receives all lottery profits.
'This is an opportunity to get more money into the system
quickly,' said Camelot's lobbyist, Darius Anderson of Platinum
Advisors. Anderson is a Democratic fundraiser and one of the most
influential lobbyists in town.
The lottery was approved by voters in 1984. It offers a range
of games, from scratch-off tickets that pay instantly to the larger
programs such as SuperLotto Plus, with televised drawings and
multimillion-dollar jackpots.
Profits grew by about 4 percent in the latest fiscal year, to
$1.13 billion. But various critics have called the program a
sleeping giant capable of doing far better.
A more profitable lottery, throwing more cash to the schools,
could relieve pressure on the deficit-ridden state
budget.
Brown's spokesman declined comment on Camelot's proposal. But
Anderson and Richard Wheeler, senior vice president in Camelot's
North American division, said the Governor's Office has expressed
tentative interest.
Wheeler said Brown's aides urged Camelot to run the idea past
two key constituencies: the Service Employees International Union
Local 1000, whose members work for the lottery; and the California
Teachers Association, whose members benefit from lottery dollars
flowing to education.
Camelot is trying to persuade the SEIU that no union jobs
would be eliminated. About 250 of the lottery's 630 employees work
in sales and marketing.
Jim Zamora, a spokesman for the SEIU, said the union has had
preliminary talks with Camelot. 'We're interested in listening to
what they have to say,' he said.
Along similar lines, the British company wants to assure the
teachers union that schools' payout from the lottery would grow,
not shrink. The union declined comment.
Camelot happens to be owned by a teachers pension fund in
Canada.
Ultimately, the proposal might need the Legislature's
approval. If the state does agree to the idea, the contract would
have to go out for bids, and other vendors would surely compete
with Camelot for the work.
This isn't the first time state officials have considered
putting the lottery in private hands. Former Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger in 2007 proposed leasing out the entire lottery
system to investors. There was no shortage of interest; Goldman
Sachs and the now-defunct Lehman Brothers made
pitches.
But the idea died, in part because the U.S. Justice
Department said states could not privatize their
lotteries.
Camelot's proposal is different. Instead of ownership or a
lease, it wants a management contract, which is legal.
Last year, Illinois became the first state to contract with a
private company to run its lottery. The contractor is a consortium
that includes Gtech Corp., the company that supplies technology to
the California Lottery. New Jersey and Ohio are studying similar
moves for their lotteries.
Lotteries are the latest public entity to draw attention from
investors. Private groups own toll roads from San Diego to
Virginia. Sacramento might lease out thousands of parking spots to
investors to raise cash for a new sports arena.
Basically, the private sector argues that it can generate
more cash for the public than government can.
'Governments are not the best place to run what is
essentially a consumer sales and marketing operation,' said
Wheeler, the Camelot executive.
Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the lottery, declined comment
on Camelot's proposal, saying, 'The decision is something that's
ultimately out of our hands.'
After several years of falling sales and profits, Traverso
said the lottery is on track for 'our biggest year ever.' He said
the upturn is due mainly to AB 142, a year-old law that lets the
lottery increase payouts. Higher jackpots have led to higher ticket
sales.
'Things are good at the lottery,' Traverso said.
But on a per-capita basis, ticket sales in California remain
relatively low. An analysis by the Tax Foundation said the average
Californian spent $84 on lottery tickets in 2008, the latest
figures available. The average for all states was
$199.
Camelot is betting that it can raise California sales
substantially, generating billions in additional profits over
several years.
From an office in Sacramento, the British firm has advised
the lottery on sales strategies since 2009, earning a $3.5 million
fee plus performance bonuses. Among other things, Wheeler said
Camelot has helped invigorate California's instant scratch-off
games.
If Camelot were given total control of the marketing
department, Wheeler said it could rev up sales even higher.
'There's a lot more that can be done,' he said.
