Central Communications System - Sole Source

The State of Illinois, through the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB), is pursuing a sole source contract with Light & Wonder International, Inc. for the Central Communications System (CCS) that monitors and controls the over 45,000 video gaming terminals (VGTs) located in 8,400 licensed establishments across Illinois. The CCS is a critical system required by law to operate video gaming in the state, and Light & Wonder is the only vendor currently capable of providing this system by the January 1, 2024 start date. The 24-month contract would bridge the gap between the expiration of the IGB's current competitively awarded CCS contract and the award of a new competitively bid contract, which may take 18-24 months to fully implement. The contract pricing is based on a percentage of net terminal income, increasing from the current 0.8513% to 0.92%, and is a no-cost contract to the state as the fees are borne by the video gaming industry licensees.

This sole source contract is necessary to prevent significant economic harm to state and local revenues, as the video gaming industry has generated over $1.034 billion in revenue for the state and local governments over the past 12 months. Light & Wonder has provided the CCS since 2011, and it has functioned without issue since the inception of video gaming in Illinois in 2012. The IGB is pursuing this sole source contract to ensure continuity of operations until a new competitively bid contract can be established, as transitioning to a new vendor could take 18-24 months and disrupt critical video gaming operations in the state.