Las Vegas-based Scientific Games is expected to play a key role in the operations of the Turkish national lottery over the next decade, according to media accounts that quote Turkey government officials.
The company, which provides gaming equipment to both the casino industry and lotteries worldwide, is not commenting on the Turkish deal until the contracts are formally signed, which is expected to take place by the end of the month.
Scientific Games will serve as a key partner to a joint venture between Italy’s Sisal and Turkish media giant Demirören Holding.
According to iGamingBusiness, Scientific Games will provide retailer terminals and an instant ticket validation system to the joint venture, which includes central system hardware and software, terminals and terminal software, as well as maintenance services and a risk management solution to support the retail operation.
Scientific Games is also expected to launch a national sports betting platform in Turkey with the company’s Turkish partner. Turkey is considered the world’s second largest state-sponsored fixed-odds sports betting market.
Independent Turkish news site Diken valued the deal at $1.69 billion.
There was no mention of the Turkish Lottery on Scientific Games’ second quarter earnings announcement on Aug. 1. However, CEO Barry Cottle said on a conference call with analysts the company’s lottery group is consistently increasing its revenue and profitability.
“We saw a 12% increase in revenue, driven by strong year-over-year growth in systems and significant sequential improvement in instant products, including double-digit growth across five (U.S.) states.”
Activity around the company’s stock has spurred interest in the company since last year.
In June, Scientific Games Chairman Ronald Perelman spent $6.1 million to purchase 305,000 shares of the company’s stock. In December, Perelman spent $27 million to purchase 1.5 million shares.
Perelman, through his New York-based MacAndrews & Forbes investment arm, now controls more than 36.4 million shares of Scientific Games, or almost 40 percent of company.
In July, Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund controlled by David Einhorn, told clients the firm added stock positions in three companies, including Scientific Games. The position was described as “small.”
Scientific Games has made several moves this year. In May, Former Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. CEO Jamie Odell joined the company as a special advisor to Perelman. In July, former Aristocrat Technologies Executive Matt Wilson was named CEO of the gaming division, but he won’t begin his role until next year.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
