July 10 - The Greek lottery company, Intralot, will gain even more
interests in the growing Italian gambling market after purchasing William Hill
Codere Italia, a venture that has been deemed unviable by William Hill, but
could see Intralot expanding significantly in this market.
William Hill, which entered into the Italian market with the Spanish Grupo
Codere in 2006, was forced to make the decision to sell this venture after
careful examination of the situation. The company said that it had not won
sufficient retail betting licenses to make the project viable in the long run
and, while it would be forced to write off a loss of $1.5 million because of the
move, it was still considered a smart business decision long term. This, taking
into account the cost of acquisitions within the current Italian regulatory
framework.
Intralot's new purchase, at a cost of nearly $9 million, awards the company
55 new betting licenses, specifically for horse racing and sportsbetting.
These are not the only interests owned by Intralot in Italy. The company's
Italian unit has already acquired 416 point of sale licenses from the country's
authorities, as well as over 160 non-exclusive permits to operate in Italy.
Intralot is considered the world's second largest lottery provider and its
products are present in 44 countries around the globe. Intralot's sports betting
services are found in twelve nations of the world.
Last month, Intralot officially won the bid to service Ohio
state's lottery, after the decision was challenged by its rival, GTech,
which has been providing services to Ohio for over two decades. At the time,
GTech said that Intralot did not have enough experience to handle the $2.2
billion lottery and said that Intralot had lied about its operations history in
the bid.
However, the claims were rejected by Ohio's Lottery Director and the $1.7
million contract was finally awarded to Intralot.
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