Austrian Lotteries officially declared winner

TIRANA, Sept. 17 – Austrian Lotteries has been officially announced the winner of 10-year licence to organize Albania’s first ever national lottery in a contested tender by participant companies and the opposition Socialist Party. A letter signed by Finance Minister Ridvan Bode announces the Austrian company as the winner of the tender with 90.7 points and its only rival bidder, the LTO Consortium with 76.5 points.
A complaint filed by the rival bidder was dismissed, says the ministry.
The national lottery process was marred by accusations by several companies who were disqualified from submitting bids and the opposition Socialist Party accusing government of corruption.
The low price, discriminatory criteria set for the participating companies, the taxes the Albanian government will benefit and the monopoly the Austrian company is given for only 3 million euros were some of the most controversial issues accompanying the process.
Only two companies participated in the tender held June 20 after Greece’s Intralot and Turkey’s Inteltek withdrew from the race concerned over the procedures the Albanian government followed and the discriminatory qualification criteria.
The first offer came from the Austrian National Lottery, while the second came from a consortium of three companies, the Italian Lottomatica, the Cypriot GTech and the Czech Synot.
Greece’s Intralot, one of the top companies interested to obtain a licence to organize the first Albanian national lottery has recently filed a lawsuit against Finance Minister Ridvan Bode over what it calls the predetermined winner of the tender held last July.
The opposition Socialist Party has strongly opposed the process as corruptive and lacking transparency. The Finance Ministry has rejected accusations.
“The most important thing for the Finance Ministry was the selection of an operator with integrity able to meet the required technical and financial requirements,” said Finance Minister Ridvan Bode, adding that the national lotteries were a delicate activity targeted by organized crime and money laundering.
Gambling is a booming business in Albania and varies from casinos to sports betting. Albania has one casino, more than 20 bookmakers, 22 companies that organize gambling games and nine offering lottery tickets. Thousands of betting shops are scattered across the country. A gambling law, which has been in force for the past two years, bans people under 18 from entering betting shops. Regardless, teenagers are often seen there.