Nicholas Buchen

The meeting covered agenda approval, with one action item postponed to a future date. Informational items included Director's comments reporting that total sales exceeded $3.6 billion through mid-November, with Scratchers driving growth, and first-quarter contributions to education estimated at $762 million. The business review highlighted Scratchers as the primary growth driver and noted an increase in public awareness regarding Lottery funds benefiting education. The Audit Committee provided an update on its oversight activities. Action items included the unanimous approval to purchase new Juniper Core Network switches with a support agreement and the renewal of the DocuSign subscription for two years. The Commission also approved the revised Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, projecting a contribution to public education of $2.112 billion, despite the mid-year revision.

The California State Lottery's Fiscal Year 2025-26 Annual Budget Report serves as a comprehensive financial roadmap detailing its operations and strategic direction. The plan aims to consistently exceed $2 billion in contributions to California's public schools, with key strategic objectives including growing Draw Game and Scratchers sales, improving public knowledge and perceptions of the Lottery, expanding and optimizing the retail network, and enhancing the overall customer experience. It also commemorates the Lottery's 40th Anniversary, ensuring effective and mission-focused utilization of funds to support education.

The meeting commenced with the annual election of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson for the 2025-2026 term, both positions being unanimously approved to continue. The agenda and previous minutes were approved. Informational items included an update on the Lottery's strong performance, having surpassed $2 billion in sales by mid-September, leading to a projected contribution of $302 million to public education. Sales highlights included strong Scratchers® performance and a surge in Powerball sales due to a large jackpot. The Lottery also launched major NFL and 40th Anniversary partnership campaigns and received four national awards at the NASPL Conference. Action items involved the ratification of an amendment to add $824,133 in funding for phase two of the Northern Distribution Center construction project addressing Fire Marshal identified items. The Commission also ratified a purchase order for $1,580,226 to procure 30 fleet vehicles for the 2025-2026 replacement plan, prompting requests for follow-up on electric vehicle constraints. Approval was granted for the Lottery's Investment Policy and Investment Strategy, which emphasizes safety and liquidity, though discussions touched upon exploring higher-yield investments. Finally, contracts for Scratchers® products and related services were awarded to Pollard Banknote (as the new primary vendor), Scientific Games, and Brightstar, with total expenditure authorities set at $358 million, $164 million, and $44 million, respectively. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 20th.

The Commission meeting began with the Call to Order, Roll Call, and Approval of the Agenda. The approval of the minutes from the September 25, 2025 meeting was completed. Informational items included the Director's Comments, noting total sales exceeding $3.6 billion through mid-November, outperforming last year by 13 percent, and highlighting the first quarter's contributions to education estimated at $762 million. This segment also detailed the Lottery's 40th anniversary celebration and provided Lottery Business Review Highlights, which covered sales trends, the shift in Scratcher price point popularity, and comparisons with other U.S. lotteries, noting California ranked second in total sales and first in instant ticket sales. The Audit Committee Update reported on overseeing internal controls and compliance, noting a recent external quality assurance review of the internal audit function. Action Items involved seeking approval for the purchase of new Juniper core network switches and the renewal of the DocuSign subscription services, while the revised Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget was presented for approval.

The Lottery Commission addressed several critical resolutions. Resolution No. 2025-ITS-007 approved the agreement with Allied Network Solutions, Inc. for a Juniper Network Switch Refresh at a total cost of $372,664.78 to replace aging hardware nearing its end-of-life. Resolution No. 2025-ITS-008 approved the renewal of the DocuSign agreement, also with Allied Network Solutions, Inc., for a two-year term at a cost of $652,935, ensuring continuity of digital signature workflows. Resolution No. 2025-FIN-004 approved the revised Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 budget, projecting $9.55 billion in sales and $2.11 billion to be provided to public education, while adhering to statutory limits on administrative expenses.