Scientific Games International, which sells Powerball lottery tickets in Montana, Iowa and four other states, has been chosen to provide equipment for North Dakota's entry into the game next year.
An advisory board voted Monday to pick Scientific Games over two competitors, GTech Corp. and Intralot USA, as the state's lottery supplier.
State Rep. RaeAnn Kelsch, R-Mandan, the chairwoman of the board, said the company offered a more favorable commission rate than its competitors. "Scientific Games came in with a really low-cost proposal," she said.
Chuck Keller, the state lottery director, said the decision will not become final for another week, to give Scientific Games' two competitors a chance to protest.
Under the agreement, Scientific Games will get 8.98 percent of ticket sales, or almost 9 cents for every $1 Powerball ticket sold. Montana's commission rate is slightly lower, at 8.35 percent.
In exchange, Scientific Games will supply the lottery ticket terminals, computer hardware and services needed to sell Powerball tickets.
The Powerball lottery is played in 24 states, including Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota. Scientific Games has contracts to supply online systems and terminals in six of those states, according to the company's Web site.
North Dakota hopes to begin selling Powerball tickets by April 1. The state also has permission to enter two other multistate lottery games, Wild Card 2 and Hot Lotto. The games offer smaller prizes, and improved chances of winning a prize.
Almost 500 business are asking for licenses to sell lottery tickets. Once the choice of Scientific Games becomes final, the company and North Dakota's lottery office will be deciding which businesses should be the state's lottery vendors. Keller said the licenses should be awarded by Dec. 31.
Scientific Games has agreed to provide as many as 325 lottery terminals under the contract's terms. Not all will be distributed. Some will be held back for new businesses and contingencies, Keller said.
The company can supply more than 325 terminals if North Dakota is willing to pay a higher commission, Keller said.
Scientific Games International is a unit of Scientific Games Corp. of New York City. It sells equipment for online lotteries, such as Powerball, and supplies for "instant winner" games. About 57 percent of the company's revenues come from lotteries, according to its Web site.
The company also offers equipment and management for pari-mutuel betting on horse races, and runs 12 off-track betting locations.
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