Ontario Lottery privatisation plans

December 17, 2012 :  ONTARIO LOTTERY PRESSES FORWARD ON PRIVATISATION
 
State owned enterprise issues seeks interested bidders
 
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation in Canada has moved forward with its lottery privatisation plans by asking interested and suitably qualified bidders to come forward for initial assessment.
 
The organisation is responsible to the provincial government for the management of Ontario's lotteries and land casinos, and has indicated that it has plans to offer online gaming entertainment as well .
 
The organisations Request for Pre-Qualification document requires interested parties to demonstrate their experience as it relates to the operation of lotteries, including their success in developing customer-driven growth strategies.
 
The OLG is additionally looking for candidates with the ability to operate ‘complex and dynamic businesses’ along with the capacity to ‘lead the transition of customers, retailers, employees and technology to a new operating model’.
 
Candidates will be expected to have access to the resources, tools and technology to effectively operate a lottery enterprise.
 
Rod Phillips, president and CEO for the OLG, said in a statement that the lottery said will identify qualified service providers from the first round of respondents, and then invite these to submit a Request For Proposal covering the day-to-day operations of the Ontario Lottery.
 
“The service provider we choose will be responsible for recommending strategies to maximise the growth and success of the lottery business, developing products and marketing plans, operations and process and cost optimisation,” Phillips said.
 
“It will also serve as a single point of contact for the OLG by being responsible for everything subcontractors do and ensuring they deliver on the OLG’s modernisation requirements.
 
“In the future, the OLG will continue its role in the conduct, management and oversight of lottery. This includes setting the overall strategy for lottery, managing the market by approving channel strategies and approving products.”
 
30 submissions to the OLG's initial Request For Information on the lottery privatisation have already been received, and two independent and unbiased advisors have been appointed to provide ‘oversight on the integrity and fairness of the procurement process’.