By the end of 1999, daily lotteries in Great Britain will be operated, installed, marketed and developed by Interactive Flight Technologies (IFT), a company that develops, manufactures, installs and markets a computer-based in-flight entertainment network.
IFT (NASDAQ: FLYT), which announced the deal at its annual meeting in New York, entered into of letter of intent this week to obtain exclusive rights and will take over operations by way of a management contract with an outside third party. In exchange, the company will receive a percentage of the revenues generated by the sale of lottery tickets and will purchase 27.5 percent of InterLotto (UK). Ltd., in the United Kingdom. (InterLotto is a company licensed by the Gaming Board for Great Britain to operate daily lotteries on behalf of UK charities.)
The closing of the transaction is subject to further due diligence and negotiation of final terms. Operation of the lottery is projected to begin the last quarter of 1999, starting with a region in the UK having a population of about 12 million and expanding to expand nationally over the subsequent two-year period.
"This transaction enables the company to fully leverage its core understanding of the gaming industry sector and is consistent with the company's initial interest in gaming," IFT Chairman and CEO Irwin L. Gross said. "Once fully implemented, we expect a significant cash flow contribution from this operation."