Ohio plans new video lottery game this summer

Jun 4, 2008, 9:26 am (2 comments)

Ohio Lottery

The director of the Ohio Lottery says he still plans to start a new video lottery game in July despite a delay in awarding a contract to a company that will provide the equipment to bars and restaurants.

A state panel today postponed voting on a contract proposal from Atlanta-based Intralot but likely will approve it in two weeks. Members of the state Controlling Board say they will await the outcome of an appeal filed by the losing company.

The Ohio Lottery Commission hears the appeal by Providence, Rhode Island-based Gtech Corporation tomorrow.

Lottery Director Michael Dolan says Gtech will operate the Keno game starting in July. Intralot's contract proposal calls for the company to take over a year later.

Strickland says the bingo-like Keno game and the $73 million he expects in revenues the first year are necessary to help plug an estimated $733 budget hole.

AP

Comments

pumpi76

What does a video lottery mean? Does it mean that they are going to place videos on every lottery retailer out there, or that the drawing is going to be done on video and not on TV...

Thanks a lot...

Stack47

Quote: Originally posted by pumpi76 on Jun 4, 2008

What does a video lottery mean? Does it mean that they are going to place videos on every lottery retailer out there, or that the drawing is going to be done on video and not on TV...

Thanks a lot...

Basically it's a Keno game that has a drawing every 4 or 5 minutes and many states already have them. The plan is to put them into sports bars and restaurants that already have lottery terminals or have enough traffic to support the game. Sports bars have a large number of monitors that show a variety of sporting events and they will probably replace the badminton channel with the Keno drawings.

Some stores have areas where people can play scratch-offs and they might add Keno, but I doubt grocery and convenient stores or gas stations will have them.

Casinos have video keno machines that are similar to video poker machines where the results only affect the player. The Ohio game will be like the Keno games that some casinos offer with a deflated payoff structure.

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