International Game Technology PLC is rebranding its global business to Brightstar Lottery amid scandals surrounding its operation of the Texas Lottery.
The announcement comes one year after IGT reached a deal with asset management firm Apollo Global Management to acquire its gaming division, including its electronic table games and Wheel of Fortune games.
IGT’s remaining businesses, now reincorporated as Brightstar Lottery, include lottery operations, providing various retail technologies, creating new games, and overseeing ticket services.
“Brightstar will be well-positioned to focus on driving innovation and growing the potential of the lottery business responsibly for the entertainment of players, the success of our customers, and the support of the good causes they fund in their communities,” stated Marco Sala, executive chairman of the new Brightstar board of directors.
Since the Texas Lottery’s inception in the early 1990s, IGT (formerly GTECH) has been its primary vendor.
Recently, the company has been linked to a number of scandals involving its operations in Texas, including its potential involvement in controversial jackpot winnings.
Lottery terminal deliveries to multiple ticket resellers in 2023 allowed for the rigging of a $95 million jackpot. In addition to the terminals, pallets of tickets were delivered.
Lottery.com’s location in Spicewood was set up in an office where no other commercial activity was taking place. It was at this location that children were seen printing tickets, according to footage initially released by the New York Times.
Testimony provided to the Texas Legislature’s Senate State Affairs Committee confirmed that an IGT representative was present at the Spicewood site for several hours.
IGT also installed nearly 47 lottery terminals for the retailer Winner’s Corner, connected to the lottery ticket reseller service Jackpocket, which was the eventual location of an $83.5 million jackpot win in February.
To date, the winnings have not been distributed to the winner, who has filed a lawsuit, because of an ongoing investigation ordered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
In addition to the shady jackpots, IGT has also been criticized for the nature of its relationship with the Texas Lottery commissioners and the commission’s revolving door of executive directors.
After commissioners were questioned by lawmakers about the nature of that relationship in a series of hearings, they fined IGT $180,000 for violating its contract by making political contributions.
Campaign finance records reported by Texas Scorecard showed that IGT contributed over $280,000 to various political caucuses since 2015. IGT has sued the state in response to the sanctions.
Despite the sanctions and subsequent lawsuit, commissioners have not sought to end IGT’s contract with the Texas Lottery.
A consideration of the commission’s recent history could point to why.
Nelda Trevino, who worked under former Executive Director Gary Grief, appeared to play a key role in his efforts to mislead lawmakers about online lottery ticket resellers and was connected to IGT lobbyists.
IGT’s contract to continue running the Texas Lottery was last renewed in 2010, with commissioners agreeing to one of the largest contracts ever awarded in the state up to that point, worth $1 billion.
Later, in 2016, IGT signed a six-year contract extension to continue providing lottery operations and services through August 31, 2026. Now, legislation expected to become law soon would extend IGT’s contract an additional two years, until August 31, 2028.
Earlier this year, IGT was named in a class-action lawsuit by longtime lottery watchdog Dawn Nettles.
However, Nettles has since agreed to drop the suit accusing IGT and others of “systematic fraud, misappropriating lottery funds, illegally selling tickets across state lines, and manipulating the outcome of lottery games.”
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