UPDATE: Governor Corbett extends bid for lottery privatization

Reported by: Chris Papst

Contributor: Rachel Snody
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Updated: 2/28 4:31 pm
Governor Corbett has a little more time before making a decision on whether to take on the Attorney General and privatize the state lottery.

The deadline was Friday at Noon,  but it has now been extended to March 18.

Corbett was all set to sell the lottery to a British Company when Attorney General Kathleen Kane said the deal was unconstitutional.  Now he has some more time to decide what to do next.

He has already returned a $50 million security deposit to the British firm, Camelot Global Services, after its bid to buy the PA lottery was stopped by the Attorney General. The $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery contract was rejected by Kathleen Kane who said it was unconstitutional. The Corbett Administration can reject Kane's decision in court. Camelot's bid was to produce $34 billion in profits over 20 years. That included a promise to increase profits for PA seniors in the first year by $50 million.

The lottery is currently run by the state. Democratic lawmakers and the union did challenge the contract in court.

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Tom Corbett is taking more time to decide whether to challenge Attorney General Kathleen Kane's rejection of his effort to hire a British firm to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery.

A Department of Revenue spokeswoman said Friday the administration and London-based Camelot Global Services agreed to extend the firm's bid through March 18. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell says the administration has a March 16 deadline to appeal Kane's decision in court.

Kane said last week she wouldn't approve Camelot's 20- to 30-year contract because state law doesn't allow the governor to privatize the management of the lottery nor does it allow the expansion of gambling that the contract would permit.

The contract's legality is also being challenged in court by Democratic lawmakers and the union that represents lottery employees.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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