Mo. Lottery expects savings with contract

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Lottery says it expects to save about $700,000 a year with a vendor contract finalized amid criticism the agency is funneling too little money to education.

The Lottery Commission on Thursday approved a seven-year contract with Rhode Island-based GTECH Corp. to provide computer gaming systems and related services.

The governor's budget office has been examining why the lottery had record sales in the latest budget year but transferred less money to schools.

GTECH's fees are paid as a percentage of sales. The new contract reduces its cut to about 4.2 percent from the 4.4 percent in its previous contract.

The lottery estimates GTECH will get about $16.1 million annually, down from $16.8 million previously. That could mean about $4.9 million in savings over seven years.