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Italy’s €4bn lottery concession is up for tender once again, with major operators believed to be circling one of the world’s most lucrative national lottery contracts.
The Agency of Customs and Monopolies (ADM), which oversees national gambling regulation, published the concession details on Friday morning (January 10).
The contest will select the operator of Lotto and other fixed-odds numerical games, in what has typically been viewed as one of the crown jewels of European lotteries.
The estimated value of the lottery contract is €4.3bn, according to the Italian government.
Bids will open at €1bn, but are expected to climb higher as interested operators submit their offers.
The winner will be selected based on moral, technical and economic reliability requirements, the government said, adding that it will choose the most “economically advantageous” bid. Bids must be submitted by March 17.
According to reports in the Italian press, incumbent operation Lottoitalia will face off against global gambling giant Flutter for the concession, although other bidders may yet enter the race.
Lottoitalia is controlled by IGT, as part of a consortium that also includes UK national lottery operator Allwyn, along with Fit and Novomatic. Its existing contract expires on November 29 of this year.
The new lottery concession will last for nine years and the concessionaire will receive a 9 percent commission on turnover.
In 2024, estimated overall Lotto turnover was around €8bn, with gross revenues of €480m paid to the concession holder.
The winner of the new contest will be required to pay €500m on being awarded the contract, a further €300m on the day it takes over lottery operations and the remaining amount specified in its contract by April 30, 2026.
Among the selection criteria, highlighted by the ADM in its announcement opening the concession race, is a need to complete technical upgrades to the existing Lotto system.
Changes to software, networking and physical gaming terminals are needed to meet the highest safety and reliability standards, the regulator said.
The new concession-holder will also be required to transfer uninvested funds to the Italian Treasury, per the plan presented, it said.
The tender was published later than expected, after last-minute corrections needed to align its text fully with the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 209, which was published on December 31, 2024 and included "Supplementary and corrective provisions to the public contracts code”.
A contest for Italy’s highly sought after lottery contract is taking place against the backdrop of widespread upheaval in the country’s gambling market.
The ADM opened a tender for new online gambling licences in December, with fees having risen dramatically since licences were previously issued and politicians showing little sign of repealing the country’s total ban on gambling advertising.
