Flutter Entertainment may make a bid for the Italian lotto

IMAGO

The latest earnings call by online betting conglomerate, Flutter Entertainment suggests the company is highly likely to launch a bid to become the new operator of the Italian Lotto. 

The tender is currently held by International Game Technology (IGT), but their nine-year contract, which was struck in 2016, is set to expire in November 2025. 

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IGT’s deal was estimated to be worth around £3.44bn and the company has confirmed their intention to bid again. 

In fact, IGT has overseen the country’s national lottery since 1995 but is expected to face stern competition from numerous bidders, including sports betting behemoth Flutter Entertainment. 

CEO of Flutter, Peter Jackson, comments on the company’s latest earnings call, which took place on 4 March, seem to suggest a Flutter bid is likely.

Flutter already holds a dominant position in the Italian market through its recent acquisitions of their Sisal, which oversees popular lottery game SuperEnalotto, and Snaitech brands. 

Jackson commented: “We’ve been very pleased by the way in which we’ve been able to run the SuperEnalotto product. I think Sisal has done a brilliant job in terms of activating cross-selling at the online channel and driving benefits in that.

“There is an opportunity to bid for the Lotto. We are putting our thoughts together on that. We’ve got a couple of weeks to decide what we’re going to do.”

Flutter is one of the world’s largest players in the online sports betting global sphere and already boasts several notable names under their banner, including Paddy Power, Sky Bet, Betfair and FanDuel.

Their purchase of Sisal was finalised in August 2022 for a reported £1.6bn. The company then confirmed the purchase of Snaitech from previous owners Playtech in September last year, for around £1.9bn. 

Together, the pair occupy 30% of all online betting activity in Italy. 

Flutter’s strong FY2024 performance also increases the prospects of a potential bid. They reported a 19% increase in revenue, which was helped by a 13% rise in average monthly players.

Flutter also enjoyed a global revenue of approximately £10.9bn in 2024, with average monthly players increasing 13% to 13.8 million.

While Moore added a caveat that the acquisition of the Italian lottery would depend on its potential financial returns, it’s easy to see why the game would make for an attractive proposition.

The Italian lottery generated around £10.79bn in 2024 and also saw a return of £6.73bn in weekly ticket sales during 2023.

An increase in turnover to the licenseholder will also appeal. The new nine-year contract is reportedly expected to increase its commission turnover to 9%, a 3% rise on the terms currently offered under the current agreement with IGT.