AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Lottery Commission has pushed back its date for deciding which company will get the new state lottery operations contract.

The commission initially said it expected a September decision, but lottery spokesman Bobby Heith confirmed Monday that lottery officials have delayed the decision until Nov. 12.

Heith said that will give the committee making the decision more time to evaluate three bids for the lucrative contract. It'll also be after the November election, and that could prevent any political controversy over the selection process.

Bids have come from GTECH Corp., which currently operates the lottery, Scientific Games Corp. and Intralot Inc.

The lottery generates some $3.7 billion in sales per year, and the state has paid GTECH $101 million in the last fiscal year to operate the games.

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