Pennsylvania Lottery employees have made the argument that, if allowed to manage an expanded lottery program like a private company is now proposing, they could achieve profits equal to or greater than what that private company could achieve.

That’s a point worth exploring as the state continues to debate whether Britain-based Camelot Global Services, which runs the national lottery in the United Kingdom and is a consultant to the California Lottery, should be granted a 20-year contract.

Camelot has pledged that the Pennsylvania pact would generate at least $34 billion in profits during the two decades, but Camelot has at least a partial “out” if that doesn’t materialize.

While the state could dip into a Camelot cash reserve to offset lower-than-pledged profits, Pennsylvania only could access 5 percent of the annual profit in trying to close the shortage.

Some state residents might question why current lottery employees, who are members of Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have not been able to achieve profits as large as what Camelot says it can produce. For the year that ended June 30, the lottery contributed more than $1 billion in profits to benefit senior-citizen programs amid total sales of $3.5 billion.

Camelot is estimating about $1.7 billion in profits annually; Secretary of Revenue Daniel Meuser has said Camelot’s bid over the contract’s first 10 years is an estimated $500 million to $1 billion more than what he believes could be achieved by state employees who currently operate the lottery.

But it’s reasonable to speculate that the current lottery management and workers could come close to, match or even exceed Camelot’s numbers if keno in bars and restaurants and online games were added to the lottery options that currently exist — as well as increasing the number of lottery retailers — all of which Camelot wants to do.

Camelot says its bid is safer for taxpayers, but that claim deserves further study.

The main issue now is what current lottery workers could achieve if they were on a level playing field with Camelot.

It’s been observed, with the introduction of some new or expanded games, that the lottery never is satisfied with its profits. Gov. Tom Corbett’s effort to privatize the lottery, carrying with it further expansion of gambling, reinforces the idea that Pennsylvania wants to extract every gambling dollar that it can.

The issue of whether to privatize the lottery needs more study, and the Corbett administration merits criticism over trying to ram privatization through without adquequate public discussion and public hearings.

The lottery used to proclaim that “you’ve got to play to win.” What now should dominate is the concern that if all factors aren’t properly weighed, the state could lose.

The current lottery workers should be given equal time to present their case, even if they ultimately are rejected.