The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General today announced its determination that the proposed Lottery contract with Camelot Global Services violates the Pennsylvania Constitution and is not statutorily authorized.
“The Office of Attorney General conducted a very thorough review of the Professional Management Agreement, the State Constitution, the State Lottery Act, the Gaming Act and applicable case authority and has determined that it cannot approve the contract to allow Camelot to operate and manage the Pennsylvania Lottery,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said.
The Attorney General is required under the Commonwealth Attorney’s Act to review contracts for ‘form and legality.’
She gives three reasons for the decision: “The PMA is an unlawful extension of the executive authority that infringes on the general assembly’s powers to make basic policy choices regarding the management and operation of the lottery pursuant to article two section one of the Pennsylvania Constitution. That authority rests with the general assembly. The contract provides for monitor based or other electronic games such as Keno, which is not authorized by the State Lottery Act, and usurps the authority of the Gaming Control Board with regard to slot machines. The proposed contract provides for proposed contracts by the vendor for indemnification of indirect expenses. Such open and undefined indemnification constitutes an unconstituional waiver of the doctrine of sovereign immunity as set forth in the Pennsylvania Constitution.”
Corbett today issued the following statement on the Attorney General’s review of the Lottery Private Management Agreement: “I’m deeply disappointed. I don’t agree with the attorney general’s analysis and decision, and we will review our legal options. My job is to protect Pennsylvania’s seniors, and we will continue to do that. We have a growing population where one in four Pennsylvanians will be over the age of 65 by 2017. My goal is to ensure that funding for senior programs keeps pace with that growth.”