On Monday the Turkish company Dogan Holding applied for prequalification for the National Lottery (Milli Piyango) tender. This followed the February 15th signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Italian Lottomatica for the establishment of a 50/50 joint venture to participate in the tender. Ten companies in the Dogan Group, including Dogan Holding, are traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Recently Turkey has been described by the British magazine ‘Real Business’ as a recession-proof country with a rapidly developing economy that has stood strongly against the global financial crisis; and one of the three exciting and fast-growing markets in the world along with Belgium and Panama. The country has a population of 72 million and has a unique position between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The state-owned National Lottery presently holds a 32% market share in Turkey with an annual turnover of US$683 million and a net profit of US$189 million. The government is expected to start the privatisation process of the lottery in August, once a bill on financial control has been enacted. Lottomatica is one of the world’s largest commercial lottery operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry.

Dogan Holding and Lottomatica are not alone in eyeing the potentially lucrative Turkish lottery market. The long established Turkish conglomerates Koç Holding and the Çukurova Group as well as relative newcomer İş Yatirim have been named in the Turkish press as being interested in the prospective tender. At the end of January it was reported that Europe’s biggest lottery, Greece’s OPAP, is certain to bid and had signed a joint participation agreement with Turkey’s Alarko Holding, Dogus and Fina.

British firm Camelot and Austria’s Osterreichische have also been mentioned as possible contenders along with Essnet-Tattersall, Scientific Games and Intralot. The new owners of Milli Piyango will be granted a 10-year licence to operate the lottery and receive 17% of its revenues. A guaranteed state share in lottery proceeds would be transferred to state institutions and funds such as national defence. (E-02.18.09)

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