The Michigan Lottery’s IGT Contract Means These New Betting Terminals Are Coming Soon

On Tuesday, the Michigan Lottery entered into a contract extension with its technology provider, IGT Global Solutions.

The 10-year contract will provide support services and supply the lottery with new tools and technology. The overhaul is designed to provide a better customer experience and contribute to the continued growth of lottery sales.

In a press release, Jay Gendron, IGT chief operating officer, said:

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with the Michigan Lottery, one that dates back to 1988. As one of the most successful lotteries in the United States, the Michigan Lottery continues to achieve record sales and contributions to the Michigan School Aid fund, its beneficiary. We look forward to providing industry-leading technology that will assist the Michigan Lottery in managing and growing its business now and in the years ahead.”

The Michigan Lottery is getting an upgrade

IGT will provide the Michigan Lottery with tools to help drive future lottery growth. The tools being delivered are part of IGT’s Aurora™ platform, including Aurora Navigator™.

Additionally, IGT is committing to deliver several business apps through its BizApps applications to help retailers better manage their lottery offerings. Retailers can look for the following:

• Performance Wizard
• Retailer Wizard
• Order Wizard
• Instant Tracking Wizard

Some of the new user-friendly terminals lottery players will begin to see soon are:

• 11,500 new Retailer Pro terminals to replace existing lottery terminals
• WinCheck™ ticket checkers for players to quickly check to see if they are holding a winning ticket
• 2,100 GameTouch™ self-service, touch-screen lottery ticket machines

IGT will continue to provide support services through its Lansing, Michigan data center. It offers backup data support services housed in its Data Center of the Americas facility in Austin, Texas.

Besides the installation and maintenance of the new terminals and machines, as part of the contract extension, IGT will monitor and support:

• Maintenance of the communications network
• Retailer training
• Field merchandisers
• Marketing support
• Call center services
• Instant ticket warehousing and distribution

Michigan Lottery continues to set records

The Michigan Lottery releases sales and revenue information at the end of every fiscal year which runs October through September.

In its last report for the period ending in September 2017, the Michigan Lottery reported:

• A record $924.1 million in School Aid Fund contributions
• Total sales registered a record $3.3 billion
• A record $249.2 million in retailer commissions and incentives
• For the third year in a row, instant ticket sales exceeded $1.3 billion
• Net instant gaming wins of $77.9 million from online game sales, a 62% increase over the previous year

One of the primary missions of the Michigan Lottery is to “maximize net revenues to supplement state education programs.” By all accounts, it is certainly meeting, if not exceeding its goal.

A new financial report will be released later this year. There is every reason to think the Lottery will continue its record-setting pace of growth.

The latest in Michigan sports betting news

With the Lottery being as popular as it is amongst Michiganians, one has to wonder if sports betting might be the next big thing to come to Michigan.

Mary Kay Bean, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, confirms the board has not received any requests to open a sportsbook.

“As I understand it, this still is an issue that the legislature and governor’s office would have to address,” Bean said to the Detroit News. “Right now, we would have to look at a proposal to see whether it would fit with the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act.”

State Rep. Brandt Iden, has been trying to get sports betting legislation passed since early this year. He found some opposition with the Tribal casinos and the legislature went on summer break without making progress.

He plans to introduce new legislation in the fall and said:

“I do believe that at the end of the day, [the board] would prefer the legislature address it. We want to make sure we roll out the right legislation that makes sense. We want to take our time, get it right, work with the stakeholders, and make sure it really is model legislation.”

The bottom line is it’s wait and see for Michigan sports betting.

Sports betting may be taking its time coming to the Wolverine State. The Michigan Lottery, however, is concluding its 46th year of bringing entertaining games of chance to its audience.

The contract extension with IGT will ensure it supports the Michigan Lottery’s mission while providing customers with unparalleled user experiences.