Allwyn, Europe’s biggest lottery group, is among the operators planning to enter the race to buy a majority stake in the Irish national lottery, hoping to fuel its ambitious expansion plans by snapping up another gaming asset.
Czech Republic-based Allwyn held talks with UBS bankers working on the sale and the Irish lottery’s management team in March, according to people close to the process. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) which has a stake of nearly 80 per cent in Premier Lotteries Ireland, kicked off a sale process in February.
OTPP was awarded a 20-year licence to run the Irish franchise in 2014, as part of a consortium comprising of An Post, which had operated the lottery since its inception in 1987, and An Post pension funds.
