Seems the TX lottery has a conflict of interest going....

Texas Lottery/G-Tech

Another Unbelievable Texas Lottery/G-Tech Story - Talk About A Conflict of Interest!

Consultant Hired by Lottery Was Being Paid by G-Tech Too ...

Posted: Monday, Jan 25, 2010
Updated:

A Message From Dawn Nettles - Publisher of the Lotto Report
First, let me say ... many thanks to the Associated Press, specifically Jay Root and Kelley Shannon, for re-searching and covering
this story. They did an excellent job. I reported this incident to Jay Root two weeks ago and have waited patiently for them
to report their findings. So, folks be appreciative of the media for keeping you informed - without the media, we'd be lost.

Secondly, many of you saw me on Channel 5 TV, (Dallas), last week and have written wanting to know what
I said explaining that you could see me talking, but no sound. Understand that when one agrees to give an interview
for TV, they only air a small portion of what one says. So that you will all know what I did say but you may
not have heard, here is what I said regarding the consultant who was being paid by both the TLC and G-Tech
to write the lottery vendor RFP (request for proposal) - a serious conflict of interest issue ...

"It’s unbelievable ... it totally defies ALL logic that a company the size of G-Tech - who has been this business for
as long as they have - would make such a gigantic mistake this close to an RFP release.

G-Tech would have you believe it’s a simple oversight on their part. I guess it’s just a coincidence
that this same thing happened in New Jersey 3 years ago where the award to G-Tech was canceled.

This is not a trivial issue that should be swept under the rug with a couple of sound bites. The People of Texas
deserve better. The TLC paid Gartner - who has NO lottery experience - over $1 million to write this RFP.

I applaud the Texas Lottery for firing Gartner but let’s face it, they most likely won’t take
any action against G-Tech who was an equal culprit in this matter and this is wrong.

Having said that, this incident calls for an investigation by the AG - NOT the Texas Lottery."

Now read on ... and be sure to read my questions below the story ...

Lottery consultant had roles with state, vendor
By KELLEY SHANNON Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press
Jan. 22, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas — A consulting company that helped Texas write bidding rules for its upcoming lottery operator contract was simultaneously getting paid by GTECH Corp., the current vendor that intends to compete again for the state's lucrative lottery deal.

The dual role of consultant Gartner Inc. is raising questions about a potential conflict of interest and whether GTECH has a competitive advantage over other lottery companies bidding this year for Texas' contract, one of the nation's largest. The stakes are high: Winning the Texas Lottery contract can bring a company more than $100 million annually.

GTECH and Gartner say there was no malfeasance and that the Gartner contract with GTECH was halted after the issue surfaced and Gartner informed the lottery commission Dec. 30. They insist the lottery bidding process should move forward. Texas Lottery Commission officials say they see no reason to scrap its request for bids, which went out Jan. 4.

"Based on what we currently know, we don't believe it affects the current procurement process," Texas Lottery spokesman Bobby Heith said Friday. "Both Gartner and GTECH are worldwide companies with thousands of employees, and certainly mistakes can happen. However, the matter is still under review."

Gartner had a $2.1 million contract with the Texas Lottery Commission starting in July 2008 to help state lottery officials write bid parameters. That contract banned the company from working for GTECH. But in mid-November 2009, Gartner signed with GTECH for a six-week $150,000 consulting contract, according to company officials and state records.

Texas abruptly ended its contract with Gartner this month, having paid $1.4 million of the total.

Some lottery commissioners quizzed agency officials and a GTECH representative about the contracts during a commission meeting Jan. 6. After lengthy discussions and questions about any conflicts of interests, Commissioner J. Winston Krause said, "I'm just disgusted with Gartner. That's it."

At least one company considering competing against GTECH is voicing concerns. Intralot Inc. of Greece, which recently landed the online games contract for Arkansas' lottery, says the outcome of the Texas commission's review may determine whether it bids in Texas.

"We respectfully await the results of the investigation by the Texas Lottery Commission," as well as answers to Texas lottery commissioners' questions in the matter, said Wendell Moore, a consultant for Intralot.

Gartner, a Stamford, Conn.- based firm, called its simultaneous contracts an oversight. Gartner spokesman Andrew Spender said the part of the company that contracted with GTECH in a "small engagement" didn't realize the terms of the much larger contract with the lottery commission. He said Gartner brought it to the Texas agency's attention as soon as it realized the problem.

He said the lottery bidding process was not tainted by Gartner's work for both the lottery commission and GTECH.

"Absolutely not — impossible that it would be," he said.

GTECH, a global company based in Providence, R.I., has the current 10-year lottery operator contract for Texas, where the games generate some $3.7 billion in sales per year. The company gets to keep a percentage. Last fiscal year it was paid $101 million by the state.

GTECH gained no information from Gartner about its work on the lottery bidding rules, said GTECH spokesman Bob Vincent.

"Our folks on the ground (in Texas) were unaware of the Gartner relationship," Vincent said. He called the two contracts purely coincidental, something that Gartner should have caught in doing "conflict checks." He said the Texas Lottery's current bidding process "is a fair one, a transparent one and this type of relationship with Gartner is not one that had any impact on it."

Scientific Games and Camelot Group also are expressing interest in Texas' lottery business. The commission expects to receive bids this spring and announce the apparent successor company in August. There would be a one-year overlap period with GTECH before the successor embarks on a seven-year operator contract.

Some companies may bid for the whole contract — including online tickets and instant scratch-off sales — while others may compete to run only part of the operation.

Gartner's dual contracts in Texas are reminiscent of another case involving GTECH. New Jersey decided in 2006 to rebid its lottery contract because of concerns that lobbying firm MWW Group was doing public relations work for the lottery while working for GTECH as a lobbyist. The state said it wanted to avoid an impression of a conflict of interest. Scientific Games contested the bid.
___

Associated Press writer Jay Root contributed to this report.

Questions? We Deserve Answers - By Dawn Nettles

To me, the timeline of events sound suspect or at least questionable. And, as you can well imagine, there are a host of questions that I have ... the simplest of which are ..
How did the Lottery learn of this connection?

If the Lottery was made aware of the connection on Dec. 30th, why did they then proceed to release the RFP on Jan. 4th without a full and transparent investigation? There was no external or public deadline date that the Lottery was operating under to release this RFP so waiting until an investigation was complete would seem like the most logical thing to do. Why did they post the RFP under these circumstances?

The Lottery admitted that the Gartner Group had NO lottery experience, so, why would Gtech hire them to advise them on Lottery system best practices?