The licence tender for the Italian Lottery has been resolved, with the lottery favouring the consortium led by International Game Technology (IGT), according to the iGaming tech provider.

The firm’s leadership informed its investors during its Investor Summit on 20 May that the four party consortium it leads, named LottoItalia, has been named the preferred suitor for the nine-year licence by the lottery.

A win for IGT…

Marco Sala, IGT’s Executive Chairman, shared that Lotto Italia’s Judging Commission has completed an analysis of technical and economic bids. The Chairman is confident that the Commission favours the IGT-led consortium’s €2.23bn bid ($2.41bn).

The only remaining obstacle is approval from the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), the country’s watchdog into market competition. Sala is confident that the ADM too will approve its bid, expected within 35 days.

“The Italian Lotto concession is one of the world’s most important lottery contracts. IGT and its predecessor companies have successfully managed the licence for over 30 years through constant innovation and the introduction of cutting-edge technology,” said Sala.

“The award is very gratifying, and we are honoured and excited to continue working with the ADM for a further nine years.”

…another leap for Allwyn…

The consortium IGT leads consists of three other firms, Arianna 2001, Novomatic Italia and Allwyn, the latter of which has established itself as a prominent national lottery operator in its own right in markets like Czechia, Greece and the UK.

On top of the €2.23bn bid($2.41bn)  – which will be paid in three instalments of €500m ($540m) and €300m ($324m) in 2025 and €1.43bn ($1.55bn) in 2026 – is IGT’s operational history as a tech partner of the Italian national lottery, having worked with the lotto since 1993.

Under three decades of IGT’s technology partnership, the Lotto has grown significantly, with annual collections rising from €2.5bn ($2.7bn) to €7.6bn ($8.21bn)  by 2022. Securing an extension of the lottery rights was being treated as a strategic priority by IGT, and has similarly been highlighted as a key development by Allwyn.

Following the announcement, the company revealed that it plans to contribute a pro rata 32.5% share of the €2.2bn ($2.38bn) licence fee. Leadership added that Allwyn will invest to support the LottoItalia consortium over the next nine years until the licence concludes in November 2034.

As stated above, Allwyn has already built itself up as a leading lottery operator across various European countries. The addition of the Italian lottery, with annual ticket sales of over €8bn ($8.64bn) and around €15bn ($16.2bn) paid in state contributions during the last nine year licence, is another huge feather in Allwyn’s cap.

“We’re thrilled to continue our strong partnership with IGT in Italy for another nine years,” added Robert Chvatal, Allwyn CEO.

“We’re pleased that Allwyn’s positive contribution to the consortium, including our proven track record of modernising and growing lotteries across Europe, will continue to support IGT’s exemplary stewardship of an important Italian national asset. 

“We look forward to working together to grow the Italian Lotto, while developing innovative solutions to support responsible play.” 

…. and a blow for Flutter?

Another element to consider in this development is the blow it could deal to Flutter Entertainment’s ambitions in Italy. Back in 2021, the firm acquired Sisal, a major Italian gaming firm and operator of the Tunisian and Moroccan national lotteries.

Sisal would later put in a bid for the Italian lottery, though this was met with some concerns about the societal impacts of potential cross-selling between lottery, betting and gaming products. 

It now seems that Flutter’s lottery ambitions have been dealt a big blow, though its leadership plans for Italy in general did take a big step forward with the completion of its Snaitech takeover earlier this year.

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