Flutter Entertainment is emerging as a leading contender for Italy’s national lottery licence, a prized asset estimated to be worth €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), as the deadline for tenders looms on Monday. The company, however, faces criticism from NGOs over concerns it will use the lottery to cross-sell other gambling products, The Irish Times reported.
Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency, which regulates gambling in the country, has set the minimum bid for the licence at €1 billion ($1.089 billion). The licence, tied to Italy’s oldest and largest lottery—expiring later this year—offers access to one of the world’s most lucrative lottery markets in terms of player base and turnover.
Flutter has not yet confirmed its bid but is expected to enter through its Italian lotto business, Sisal. It is reportedly partnering with Scientific Games and private equity firm Brookfield in this endeavor.
“We’re not going to talk about our bidding strategy. It’s commercially sensitive,” Flutter’s Chief Financial Officer Rob Coldrake said on a recent call with analysts. “We will be very disciplined and to the extent that we go ahead, we will put on as good a show as we can.”
Flutter is also buying Snaitech, another Italian lottery business, for €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) to strengthen its hold on Italy’s gambling sector.
While online gambling ads are banned in Italy, current rules allow operators to offer additional products through features like ticket scanning. Morgan Stanley said that cross-selling is a key incentive for Flutter, noting online players are worth 10 times more than retail ones.
However, Italian NGOs, including the National Campaign against the Risks of Gambling, are sounding the alarm, claiming that cross-selling strategies are harmful and aggressive. It stressed that online gamblers tend to lose significantly more than retail players. These groups are urging regulators to prohibit any cross-selling practices under the new license.
Looser regulations around online gambling were also a major draw in the 2014 sale of the Irish lottery licence, which went to Canadian investors. In 2023, Premier Lotteries Ireland, holder of the exclusive licence for Ireland’s National Lottery, was sold to French gaming giant La Française des Jeux (FDJ) in a €350 million ($381 million) deal.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/03/12/97932-flutter-entertainment-expected-to-lead-race-for-italys-16-billion-lotto-licence
