The State of Missouri, which is home to several popular riverboat casinos, is pleased to report their state lottery is doing well. Having returned nearly $3 billion to the State of Missouri and public education since it first began selling tickets, the Missouri Lottery is certainly meeting the demand of Missourians and state lottery officials. Keeping with their mission to implement modern technology for all of their Instant Ticket Vending Machines, the Missouri Lottery has chosen GTECH Corporation to replace 550 machines with their self-service instant ticket vending machines, known as EDS-Q.

GTECH, whose corporate headquarters are in Providence, Rhode Island, issued a press release, recounting the Missouri Lottery's decision, which was made following a competitive procurement process. GTECH is no stranger to the Missouri Lottery however, for they have been providing their services to the Missouri Lottery for over sixteen years. Now, having procured a five-year lease agreement, GTECH expects to bring in over $7 million by the time the lease is up for renewal. The deal will go into effect starting in July, 2007.

GTECH's Chief Executive Officer and President, W. Bruce Turner (who also is the CEO of lottery kingpin, Lottomatica), said in the company's press release that GTECH is pleased to know they still have the Missouri Lottery's vote of confidence in being suited to provide innovative technology for updating Missouri's fleet of self-service lottery ticket machines. Turner went on to say he is confident the new machines will contribute to growth in ticket sales for the Missouri Lottery.

Larry Jansen, the Executive Director of the Missouri Lottery, said that because of GTECH's past reputation and track record successfully operating nearly 16,500 EDS-Q ticketing machines, as well as their vast experience in providing no-downtime conversions and implementation, GTECH was a surefire choice to handle the Missouri Lottery's instant ticket vending machine upgrade. The deal is not only a good sign for the lottery industry, it is good for the casino gambling industry in Missouri as a whole.