SG Reportedly Tapped to Run Turkish Lottery for Next Ten Years

An unidentified source close to Scientific Games (SG) has confirmed that the company has been chosen as the exclusive supplier of lottery instant games, instant ticket validation systems and retailer terminals in Turkey, for the next ten years.

The company’s innovative Wave terminals reportedly impressed the right people, helping SG secure the deal with the Türkiye Varlık Fonu. In addition to the lottery operations, SG is also going to bring other activity to Turkey. The same source confirms that the US-based company is getting ready to introduce, in conjunction with its Turkish partner, a “turnkey sports betting solution for national sports betting.”

Turkey’s state-sponsored Milli Piyango lottery is going to be run by a joint venture that involves Sisal and Turkish media giant Demirören Holding, with Demirören holding 51% and Italy-based Sisal the remaining 49%. Together, they won the lottery bid after “guaranteeing” an annual contribution to the state of at least $1.67 billion.

That figure was apparently overwhelming to others who had initially intended on competing for the contract. The Sazka Group, International Game Technology and Intralot all withdrew their bids after the Turkish government increased the mandatory minimum annual contribution from 7.5 billion lira ($1.34 billion) to 9.5 billion lira ($1.7 billion).