IGT to Be Recommended for the Next Italian Lotto License

Gambling giant International Game Technology (IGT) said that it is poised to reobtain its Italian Lotto concession, potentially spelling bad news for Flutter, which had challenged IGT for the license.

Judging Commission to Recommend LottoItalia to the ADM

On May 19, IGT announced that the Judging Commission had completed its analysis of the technical and economic offers in the bid for the Italy Lotto License. According to the firm, the commission is set to propose LottoItalia, an IGT-led consortium, to the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM).

The ADM is expected to make the award notice within the next 35 days from the time of IGT’s announcement.

In addition to IGT, the LottoItalia consortium is also comprised of Allwn, Arianna 2001, and Novomatic Italia.

Flutter Had Challenged IGT for the License

The Italian Lotto concession is one of the world’s most important lottery contracts due to the size of the Italian market. As one of Europe’s leading gaming markets, Italy has long enjoyed great interest from gaming companies.

In terms of lottery, IGT has dominated Italy for over three decades, demonstrating continued innovation and reacquiring the license thanks to its proven leadership in gaming. However, as mentioned, Flutter Group had, through its Sisal subsidiary, challenged IGT’s hegemony, seeking to acquire the Italian Lotto concession for itself.

The latest announcement, however, is bad news for Flutter and its main supporter, Scientific Games.

IGT Looking Forward to Another 9 Years in Italy

IGT’s executive chairman, Marco Sala, commented on the announcement, saying that the Judging Commission’s trust is “very gratifying.” He added that his team is honored and excited to continue working with the ADM for nine more years.

Vince Sadusky, IGT’s chief executive officer, also weighed in on the matter, saying that the company’s EUR 2.23 billion ($2.5 billion) investment in upfront fees demonstrates the license’s value and IGT’s confidence in the market’s potential to generate profit.

The exciting innovation pipeline with fresh launches planned for commencement of the new license will drive Lotto wager growth. In addition, we plan to significantly grow our iLottery sales and leverage that momentum to expand into the Italian B2C iCasino, sports betting, and other digital gaming business.

Vince Sadusky, CEO, IGT

The EUR 2.23 billion upfront license fee will be paid in three installments. According to the company, the first two installments of EUR 500 million and EUR 300 million will be made in 2025, with the rest to be paid in 2026.

Securing the nine-year license means that IGT will continue to operate Italy’s oldest lottery until November 2034.