The New South Wales Legislative Council on Tuesday approved legislation to enable the sale of NSW Lotteries after the government made a number of concessions that will ensure greater protection for lottery agents within the state.
In consultation with Coalition gaming spokesman George Souris, the NSW government agreed to extend newsagents monopoly on retail ticket sales from three to five years, while extending the maximum lottery licence period from thirty to forty years.
The privatisation is expected to net the government up to AUD$600 million.
“This is good news for the NSW economy,” said NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal, who described the event as ‘historic’. “The legislation strikes the right balance between protecting newsagents and protecting the value of NSW Lotteries for taxpayers.”
After the legislation passes the NSW Parliament, the Government will call for “request for qualifications” from potential bidders within two weeks.
The first phase of the sale process will assess the qualifications of interested bidders to operate a public lottery in NSW.
The NSW Government expects the sale to be completed in early 2010.
Expected to bid for the licence are lottery giants GTECH and Intralot, as well as domestic gambling operators Tabcorp and Tattersals.