{"id":265296,"date":"2023-03-21T09:25:14","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T14:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=265296"},"modified":"2023-03-22T19:05:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T00:05:14","slug":"irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Lottery for Sale in Surprise Move by Current Operator"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the UK prepared to issue a new concession to run the National Lottery<\/a>, many people were confident that the incumbent, the Camelot Group, would continue. The surprise move to give the operations to Allwyn caught Camelot\u2019s owner, the Ontario Teachers\u2019 Pension Plan (OTPP), unprepared. It then sold Camelot\u2019s assets to Allwyn and now plans on exiting Ireland as well.<\/p>\n

\"A
A display for the Irish Lottery greets consumers in a store. The lottery’s operator, Ontario Teachers\u2019 Pension Plan, wants to sell the business. (Image: The Irish Times<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OTPP is selling its Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) business, according to The Irish Times. <\/em>It\u2019s an unexpected move, as its concession to operate the lottery doesn\u2019t expire for another 10 years.<\/p>\n

OTPP has held a majority stake in PLI since Ireland awarded the current concession in 2014. It paid \u20ac405 million (US$434.8 million) for the rights to the lottery, along with then-primary operator An Post and An Post Pension Funds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

OTPP hasn\u2019t provided a reason for its sudden decision to sell the lottery. The move comes a month after the organization completed its sale of Camelot\u2019s assets<\/a>, including those in the UK and Illinois, to Allwyn. For those assets, it reportedly earned around \u00a3100 million (US$120.86 million).<\/p>\n

Revenue doesn\u2019t seem to be a primary motivation. An update by OTPP earlier this month revealed that the fund generated a net return of 4% last year, driven by \u201cstrong returns from inflation-sensitive and infrastructure asset classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also had \u201cvalue added beyond benchmark\u201d of CAD4.4 billion (US$3.21 billion) as the 10-year average net return reached 8.5%. In addition, OTPP opened new offices in San Francisco and Mumbai.<\/p>\n

Casino.org <\/em>contacted OTPP regarding the PLI sale but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n

PLI Performance<\/h2>\n

PLI has been performing strongly<\/a> as well. In 2021, its sales breached the \u20ac1-billion (US$1.07 billion) mark, recording a year-on-year increase of almost 15%. Operating profit totaled \u20ac25.3 million (US$27.16 million) for the year.<\/p>\n

As a result of its strong 2022 performance, the OTPP fund was \u201cfully funded\u201d as of Jan. 1, 2023. In addition, it held a preliminary funding surplus of CAD17.5 million (US$12.79 million).<\/strong><\/p>\n

That facilitated the purchase of Sweetwater Royalties, a base metals and industrial minerals royalty company. For a 25% stake in the company, it paid CAD221.6 million (US$162.01 million) in cash.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the organization said it would stop direct investments in China due to the ongoing political climate. However, it kept listed securities on the plate.<\/p>\n

Irish Lottery Under Pressure<\/h2>\n

The Irish Times<\/em> cited analysts who indicated that the organization was the odds-on favorite to continue in Ireland, despite losing the UK\u2019s National Lottery.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s National Lottery has dealt with negative press over the past year, though there\u2019s no indication that this was the impetus for the PLI sale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last December, an audit by Ireland\u2019s Comptroller and Auditor General raised questions about how unclaimed lottery winnings were being used. At the time, there were around \u20ac124 million (US$131.71 million) in unclaimed prizes that should have been used for community projects, according to the lottery charter.<\/p>\n

The audit, however, found that some of the money was used for marketing and business expenses. That led to a call from legislators to increase oversight of the National Lottery operations, and reforms are still in the works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the UK prepared to issue a new concession to run the National Lottery, many people were confident that the incumbent, the Camelot Group, would continue. The surprise move to give the operations to Allwyn caught Camelot\u2019s owner, the Ontario Teachers\u2019 Pension Plan (OTPP), unprepared. It then sold Camelot\u2019s assets to Allwyn and now plans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":265295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,13699],"tags":[81919,81952,13701],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIrish Lottery for Sale in Surprise Move by Current Operator - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Irish Lottery for sale in surprise move by current operator, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but it isn't giving a reason for the decision.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Irish Lottery for Sale in Surprise Move by Current Operator - Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Irish Lottery for sale in surprise move by current operator, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but it isn't giving a reason for the decision.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-21T14:25:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-23T00:05:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/A-display-for-the-Irish-Lottery-greets-consumers-in-a-store.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1040\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"585\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erik Gibbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erik Gibbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/\",\"name\":\"Irish Lottery for Sale in Surprise Move by Current Operator - Casino.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/A-display-for-the-Irish-Lottery-greets-consumers-in-a-store.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-21T14:25:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-23T00:05:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca\"},\"description\":\"Irish Lottery for sale in surprise move by current operator, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but it isn't giving a reason for the decision.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/irish-lottery-for-sale-in-surprise-move-by-current-operator\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/A-display-for-the-Irish-Lottery-greets-consumers-in-a-store.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/A-display-for-the-Irish-Lottery-greets-consumers-in-a-store.jpg\",\"width\":1040,\"height\":585,\"caption\":\"A display for the Irish Lottery greets consumers in a store. 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