Study aims at making Ohio Lottery more efficient

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

An independent assessment about how the Ohio Lottery can operate more efficiently will include a study of privatized lottery operations, but officials say there’s no intent to pursue such a change.

A state request for proposals issued Aug. 24 seeks a consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the lottery, Northeast Ohio Media Group reported.

Lottery spokeswoman Danielle Frizz-Babb said in a statement that “not only is there no intent to privatize the lottery, but there is nothing in current law that permits us to take that path.” She said it will be a business assessment that focuses on how to make lottery operations more efficient and recommend ways to generate more funds for education.

“The ultimate goal is to make us more profitable, maximize revenues and do it responsibly,” lottery Director Dennis Berg told the Lottery Commission this week.

Berg told the commission the lottery’s goal is to get the “biggest bang for the buck,” and if a different operational model is proposed, “it would likely require the unraveling of laws and could be a complex process.”

Proposals are due Monday, and a contract will likely be signed in November, Berg said.

The study will take about six months.