PROVIDENCE – Eight months after Gov. Daniel J. McKee signed legislation establishing the deal, International Game Technology PLC announced on Friday that it signed a 20-year contract extension with the Rhode Island Lottery to be the state’s exclusive supplier of scratch tickets, lottery tickets, iLottery games and slot machine technology.
The contract, which lasts until June 30, 2043, commits IGT to keep 1,100 jobs in Rhode Island and obligates the company to invest $155 million in the state. The agreement comes after legislation was approved by the Rhode Island General assembly in May last year, and signed by McKee in June, authorizing the Rhode Island Lottery to go forward with the 20-year contract extension.
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IGT, a company formerly known as GTECH Corp., which formed in Rhode Island and later became a subsidiary of Lottomatica S.p.A., has been the technology and service provider for the state lottery for 45 years. This is the second consecutive 20-year contract it has received from the state, after a 2003 deal under former Gov. Don Carcieri obligated the company to invest $100 million in its Rhode Island operations.
“IGT’s history is rooted in Rhode Island as the company is one of its most successful high-tech startups, with the Rhode Island Lottery being our very first customer,” said Jay Gendron, chief operating officer for global lottery at IGT, which has its global headquarters in London. “IGT’s good jobs and great people are the foundation of our success and one of the reasons why we have been able to support the lottery in its continued evolution throughout our decades-long partnership. Over the next 20 years, we are committed to delivering unrivaled gaming experiences that engage players and drive maximum growth for Rhode Island’s third-largest revenue stream.”
The Rhode Island Lottery said the contract was a reflection of the legislation signed into law by McKee: “We essentially codified what was within the legislation,” the organization said, in a statement provided to Providence Business News.
The 20-year contract also requires IGT to pay a total of $27 million directly to the state government, with $13.5 million due in both 2023 and 2024.
In fiscal year 2021, gross revenue from Rhode Island’s traditional lottery totaled $295,941,387, according to the Rhode Island Lottery. State law required 22.7% of that to be transferred to the state’s general fund, totaling $67.17 million, with the rest going to prize awards, commissions, the cost of tickets and other operating expenses.
The R.I. Department of Revenue and McKee have said legal gambling revenues are the state’s third-largest source of revenue, amounting to $302 million in fiscal 2021.
The Rhode Island Lottery, which launched in 1974, said it’s excited about the future with IGT, including new technologies like the mobile- and computer-based iLottery games that first became available to customers during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. IGT pledged as part of the new 20-year deal that it will upgrade the iLottery system this year, “offering a suite of powerful analytics” for the Rhode Island Lottery, along with more user-friendly features for customers with a “with a vast library of engaging content.” IGT said it would upgrade the iLottery again in 2033.
“The Rhode Island Lottery has partnered with IGT since the early days of both businesses, and has benefitted from piloting numerous IGT innovations over the years, including exciting iLottery solutions and sophisticated new ways of ticket printing that are now part of our growing portfolio,” said Mark Furcolo, director of the Rhode Island. “This extension signifies an impressive milestone, and we look forward to continued success and implementation of the most advanced lottery systems and solutions for many years to come.”
IGT, which processes about 75% of U.S. lottery sales throughout the country, said that later this year it would replace the Rhode Island Lottery’s current draw-based lottery central system, point-of-sale terminals and telecommunications equipment with its Aurora lottery technology that the company first unveiled in 2015. IGT said it would provide Rhode Island with another lottery technology upgrade in 2033.
As part of the 20-year contract, IGT is also serving as the sole provider of video lottery terminals, also known as slot machines, to Bally’s Corp. for its Twin River Lincoln and Tiverton casinos. The deal also will see IGT replace the Rhode Island Lottery’s video lottery central system that’s connected to all of the video lottery terminals in the two casinos, allowing for “further reliability and security.” IGT said it will replace the video lottery central system again in 2035.
In fiscal 2021, Rhode Island generated $209 million in net revenues from video lottery terminals.
(Updated with comment from Rhode Island Lottery)
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
