Lawsuit filed over effort to privatize Pa. lottery

    A union representing state workers has filed a lawsuit that seeks to prevent Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration from privatizing the Pennsylvania Lottery.

     Corbett is weighing a 20- to 30-year agreement with Camelot Global Services to manage the $3.5 billion lottery. Currently, the 41-year-old lottery is run by the Department of Revenue, and profits benefit programs for the elderly, including transit, rent and property tax rebates, prescription drug assistance, senior centers and long-term care services.

    AFSCME Council 13, which represents 233 lottery employees, filed suit in Commonwealth Court yesterday. It’s asking the court to keep the administration from implementing a private management agreement.

    Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley calls the suit “frivolous.” He says nothing has been privatized and that the state is doing its due diligence in examining the idea.

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