Scratch lottery relaunch
The Economy and Finance Ministry said yesterday it will revive a scratch-ticket lottery to boost revenues for public coffers and is to award licenses to two operators. The ministry has posted the tender on its official website. The tender will be put up to public consultation and will be awarded to companies based on the highest bid, it said in a statement. According to local press reports, the state aims to raise 200-300 million euros from the tender to help curb a swelling budget deficit. OPAP, Europe’s largest publicly traded gambling company, has said it is interested in bidding for the contract. Another bidder could be Intralot, the world’s second-biggest gambling services provider, which previously managed «Xisto,» a government-licensed instant lottery game. Greece’s economy will shrink this year and next and faces «prolonged slow growth» unless the government firms up public finances to contain both a rising deficit and debt, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.
