HELENA — The Montana Lottery uses a single contract vendor to provide a range of their products, including Montana Millionaire and Sports Bet Montana. On Thursday, the Montana Lottery Commission committed to putting that contract out to bid to ensure transparency and integrity following the Lottery Director looking into sidestepping the bidding process.
(Learn more about the legal loophole the Montana Lottery Director explored that would sidestep the bidding process)
Lottery Commission Chair Leo Prigge says he’s excited to see what comes from the bidding process.
“Find out what type of equipment and what type of technology is out there for the Lottery for the next seven years and then obviously the integrity too, that’s the two big reasons to go with the RFP,” said Prigge.
Questions have arisen in recent months around the Lottery’s contract negotiations, including inquiries from the State Legislature.
Intralot, a Greek company, has held the state contract since 2006 to provide Montana games. Their current contract is worth around $50 million and 8% of the revenue generated by the games it manages, which was $9.5 million in 2023. Their latest contract is set to expire in March of 2026.
In September of last year, the Lottery Commission instructed staff to begin the request for proposal (RFP) process. An RFP is common practice for state contracts and is required for most agencies under the Montana Procurement Act.
However, in December Lottery Director Bob Brown informed the commission that the bidding process had not begun so he and the Department of Administration could further negotiate with Intralot. Brown further explained a 2023 law change allowed them to circumvent the RFP process if the commission approved.
“As you know we have received an offer from [Intralot] and through those discussions, it became apparent that we should further explore the proposal and option we have and use Senate Bill 51 (2023) to our advantage,” said Brown at the December 5, 2023 Lottery Commission meeting.
At that meeting, commissioners expressed unease about not going through the RFP even if they were not legally required to. Brown said no action would be taken without the commission's approval.
Senate Bill 51 (2023) made a small, but impactful change to the Montana Lottery RFP requirements. It changed the wording for the Montana Lottery RFP exemption section from "consultant employed" to "person contracted." The Montana Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their Citizen United decisions that companies can be considered a “person.”
On February 5, Brown appeared before the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government at the Montana Legislature. Lawmakers asked Brown to address why the Montana Lottery had avoided the bidding process.
At the hearing, Brown stated that nobody had told him to forgo the competitive bidding process, but Governor Greg Gianforte, the Governor’s Budget Office, and the Department of Administration had encouraged him to explore further negotiations with Intralot to find the best deal for the state.
Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kallispell, introduced Senate Bill 232 this session to remove the loophole. It passed the Senate 43 to 7 and is awaiting action from the House.
At Thursday’s Lottery Commission Meeting, commissioners affirmed that they will only approve the RFP process. They noted that Intralot may win the bid, but other companies must also be able to make bids.
“I think we made the right decision in September. We made it unanimously,” said Commissioner Jon Metropoulos. “...It is really important for the Montana Lottery – because it is in the business of gambling – to have integrity above reproach because people are way too quick to assume gambling is corrupt. And I think [Montana Lottery] has served Montana well and has maintained a great reputation and we need to do that by pursuing an RFP.”
The commission also unanimously approved a vote of confidence in the Montana Lottery staff and Director Brown for their work and continued work moving forward.
Brown told MTN his staff is committed to following the direction of the Lottery Commission and making sure the next contract is best for the people of Montana.
“I believe we’re in good shape. Really the whole idea was to be sure we presented all the options to the commission, let the commission make their choice and we’re going to move ahead full steam to make that choice,” said Brown.
