Australian government sells off Lotto
3rd March 2010 11:43 AM
News has reached us today that the Australian government sells off the lotto to Tattersalls, the company who already own the Oz or Australian Lottery. The lottery group has sold for a massive A$850 million in an auction held yesterday in New South Wales. The sale attracted both local and overseas bidders and when finalised is likely to be worth more than A$1 billion to the Australian government.
Tattersalls are the company who put the G into Gambling in Australia, running lotteries in three states, including the Oz Lotto plus sports betting and betting shops and now they own the once government owned National Lottery of Australia.
Tattersalls weren’t alone in the bidding however, with many well know world lottery names being thrown up in the draw. Intralot, the Greek lottery company placed bets, as did Italy’s Lottomatica.
As part of the deal, Tattersalls – the Oz Lotto company – now receive the 40 year license on the lottery, explaining why the sale was worth so very much.
The plans to sell the lottery by the NSW government have been in place since last year, as part of the governments plan to offload other debts, electricity generation and retail assets. Market sources put the sale as worth around A$600 million which makes this like a lotto win for the New South Wales government.
Consolidation of the Oz Lotto draws can only be a good thing, as the group move towards being one big lottery company it may well mean better draws and bigger payouts for lottery players.
Written by Lucy Lotto
Page Last Updated: 03/05/2010 15:23:50
