Gov. Eyes Lottery Gambit

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is looking to hire a consultant to explore the privatization of the Ohio Lottery.

The announcement comes a few weeks after the administration issued a request for proposals from consultants interested in working on the possible privatization of the Ohio Turnpike.

The lottery generates $2.6 billion annually, officials said. The Ohio Lottery Commission will request proposals from interested consultants in the next few weeks, according to a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The paper quoted a Kasich spokesman as saying a consultant is needed to provide a “top-to-bottom strategic review of the agency to ultimately determine whether privatizing should be considered and how to maximize the asset to the fullest.”

The lottery is the latest privatization proposed by Kasich. The current two-year budget relies on the long-term lease of the state’s lucrative liquor distribution system.

The budget also features a plan to sell five prisons. The prison proposal last week was the target of a new lawsuit. ProgressOhio, a state-based policy group, filed the suit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, arguing that the sales would be unconstitutional.

“Clearly, these provisions both violate the single subject law of the Ohio Constitution, deprive Ohioans of the right to a citizen veto, and violate the constitutional prohibition of the state in using its full faith and credit to invest its assets in a private corporation,” ProgressOhio spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in a statement.

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