State Board Says OK for Monitoring 

The state of Ohio’s lottery system is looking to monitor the backroom operations as they pertain to the slot machines that the Ohio Lottery is bringing in. The Ohio Controlling Board has approved for Intralot to develop a system that would allow them to monitor the activity of these slot machines as they operate in the state. It is a $9.1 million deal that will benefit both parties greatly.  

The state of Ohio is looking to install thousands of slot machines across the state at their seven race tracks. The board approved the contract much to the dismay of the other companies that wanted a chance to bid on the contract. GTECH was the biggest proponent in the deal and they asked the Governor to reject the bid and allow them a chance to show them what they might be able to offer, but the governor declined. Instead, he rejected their request and the board approved the deal rather quickly.  

The state already had a contract with Intralot so all this did was really renew the deal that they had with the state that was signed in 2008. For those residents that are not happy with the slot machines coming in, this was not a good sign. It looked to them as though things were being pushed through in a manner that could set the state up for a lawsuit later on. Many of these people though were not happy that Strickland, a Democrat, had tried to approve the slot machines in the first place, and were hopeful when Governor John Kasich, a Republican, came in. Those hopes were dashed however, when Kasich agreed to push forward with the slot machine agenda.