Talks continue on Pa. lottery bid deadline

Talks continue to extend deadline for Pa. decide on British firm's bid to manage state lottery

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett's administration and a British lottery operator say they continue to negotiate the extension of a deadline to decide on the company's bid on a 20- to 30-year contract to manage the Pennsylvania Lottery.

Spokeswomen for the Department of Revenue and Camelot Global Services said Monday that the talks continue without agreement. The bid was set to expire Dec. 31.

Camelot runs the national lottery in the United Kingdom. It submitted the sole bid to manage Pennsylvania's $3.5 billion lottery system, one of the nation's largest.

Top Corbett aides say he wants to delay the deadline to answer questions about the contract proposal and to allow unionized employees time to offer a competitive alternative, which is guaranteed in their contract.

Camelot is declining comment on the talks.