Sisal to Unseat Camelot

Italian Gambling operator, Sisal seeks to unseat Camelot by gunning for the role of the National lottery operator in the UK. (Image Source: Sisal.com)

Sisal, a gambling operator that runs Italy’s most famous lottery,  has joined the race to take over the operation of the National Lottery in the UK.  According to a report by The Telegraph over the weekend (although they cited unknown sources), Sisal will pilot a conglomerate that will move to take charge of the National Lottery from Camelot, which has been operating it for a long time.

This planned consortium will be financed by CVC Capital Partners, a private equity company. Remember that CVC purchased a 100% equity stake in Sisal for 1 billion pounds back in 2016. The UK operator, Camelot has been running the National Lottery since its launch in 1994. Camelot was originally led by Britains but was the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan later acquired the firm in 2010 in a 389 million Euros deal.

Camelot has a license that allows it to operate the National Lottery; however, the license will expire in 2023. The UK Gambling Commission will soon decide whether to renew the license to extend Camelot’s operation for another ten years or opt for a new operator. The final decision will be decided in the formal, ongoing bidding process. It is expected that the UK Gambling Commission will announce its final decision towards the end of the year.

Not First Attempt at Expanding Overseas

Although Sisal’s focus has always been on the local market for a long time, the firm has made several efforts to expand its reach overseas in the last few years. These efforts have always recorded tremendous successes. One such successful effort is the recent bid they won is to provide lottery operations in Morocco and Turkey. They were also given a renewal license in Italy.

Sisal’s competition in the UK is not only against Camelot, but also against SAZKA, a lottery operator from the Czech owned by Karel Komarek (a billionaire), and also against Richard Desmond (an ex media tycoon) who operates UK’s Health Lottery.

Late last year, news came out that Apollo Global Management (Wall Street buyout firm) is backing SAZKA with a 500 million pounds investment to win the license for the National Lottery. The bidding process began in late August after several delays where SAZKA announced that it also wants to challenge Camelot for the National Lottery operator license. The development came as a surprise to many people. SAZKA later hired Sir Keith Mills as its bid chairman, who now supervises the Czech’s run in the license race. Sir Mills was the former Deputy Chairman of the LOC (London Organizing Committee) for the London Olympics in 2012.

About Sisal

If you are looking for one of the largest gambling operators in Italy, visit Sisal. The company runs both online facilities and land-based betting and gaming establishments. Their top products include bingo, wagering, slot games, poker, and many more. SuperEnalotto is one of the most famous lotteries they run by Sisal.

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