Lottery Goes Looking for Ticket Supplier
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SACRAMENTO — California Lottery Director M. Mark Michalko said Friday that the state will award a ticket contract for a single game as a stopgap measure to avoid running out of tickets.
Michalko said he will proceed with bids on a pact to supply subsequent games.
Michalko announced plans earlier this week to end the state’s pact with Georgia-based Scientific Games Inc.
The firm was unable to drop its printing subcontractor, which the state wanted barred after it was found by court-appointed arbitrators to have fraudulently overcharged for materials.
Michalko said the goal of the stopgap contract is to ensure that 200 million tickets for game nine are ready for delivery to outlets by Oct. 1. Tickets for games seven and eight are in warehouses.
“While we have two instant games in our warehouses, the unpredictable nature of instant game sales, plus the fact that our ticket supply could be depleted within 14 to 16 weeks, makes it essential that we move expeditiously in this matter,” Michalko said.
The director sent telegrams Thursday to 11 potential suppliers asking them to express interest in the single-game contract by Monday.
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