U.K. Lottery Faces Challenges From Two Companies
Indian lottery operator Sugal & Damani may challenge the U.K. Lottery Commission's decision to award Camelot a third consecutive license to run the National Lottery. Sugal & Damani has asked the commission to review its decision, but has reportedly been turned down. Sugal & Damani said it is now "considering all of its options." Two weeks ago, Sir Richard Branson called for a formal inquiry into the lottery bidding process calling it a "farce."
Gtech Takes on OPAP
Gtech has reportedly filed a court injunction in Athens against Greek lottery operator OPAP for directly awarding an IT and terminal contract to local company Intralot, according to Thomson Financial News. Sources said that Gtech claims that OPAP breached both Greek and EU law by cancelling its public tender process for IT and terminals by issuing a simple press release and without a sound basis. Furthermore, Gtech argues that from November 2006, the beginning of the tender process, OPAP was bound to evaluate all three bidders, which included Gtech, Scientific Games and Intralot.
Still no Start Date in Sight for SA National Lotto
Five months after the suspension of the National Lotto, South African Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa has yet to announce a return date for the game. Mpahlwa suspended the Lotto on March 31, pending an investigation into a possibly flawed tender process. A spokesperson for Mpahlwa said all the necessary groundwork for the Lotto had been laid and all that was left was for the minister to make an announcement.
According to local media reports, however, South African citizens are not content to wait and have begun playing online European and U.K. lotteries at sites such at UKlotterylive.com and Playeuromillions.com.
China Pushes for Sports Lottery
The Chinese government will continue to push for the launch of a sports lottery despite a recent game-fixing scandal involving several local professional baseball players, according to Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-Jun. At the latest, the lottery would launch on April 15, 2008. The Sports Affairs Council is currently in charge of planning the matter.