Lottery Refuses to Release Critical Report

The California Lottery refused Friday to release a report from its computerized games contractor that is highly critical of the state operation.

Director Maryanne Gilliard said she is looking into whether the report is a public document. Gilliard also said lottery staff members were preparing a response to the report.

The report by GTECH Corp., the industry leader in running online lottery games, was mentioned informally by policy-setting lottery commissioners at the end of a public meeting.

Commissioner Lisa Hughes called it a “self-serving document delivered under questionable circumstances.” Gilliard described parts of the report as “not fair,” “misleading” and “extremely inaccurate.”

The director, a former Sacramento County deputy district attorney, compared the report to what attorneys “might do in the closing arguments to paint their side as rosy.”

In their discussion, lottery officials disclosed that the report rated the lottery as among the nation’s lowest in per-capita sales.

The developments come amid the lottery’s continuing struggle with the state controller’s office, which has criticized the efficiency of the lottery’s administration. The lottery also suffered a major sales setback in June when the state Supreme Court ruled its keno game illegal.

A spokesman for GTECH at its headquarters in West Greenwich, R.I., said the company would not make the report public because it was provided to a customer, the California Lottery.

The spokesman, Steve White, declined comment on the reaction of lottery officials to the report. But White said the intent was to help GTECH and the lottery work together to improve the sales.

“There are areas that can be improved. We thought it important to highlight those areas so we can work together with the California State Lottery,” he said.

GTECH’s current contract to operate the lottery’s computerized games ends in October 1998. The lottery is already preparing to call for bids on the next contract. So far, 65 firms in the United States and Europe have indicated interest.