Another Czech gambling company is preparing to profit from the problems of struggling debt-burdened state lottery operator Sazka.
Synot Typ says it has been cleared by the Ministry of Finance to operate a lottery and expects to launch a competitor to Sazka’s Sportka lottery in September. The company, part of the Holding Synot group founded by Ivo Valenta, said it is reacting to the current state of the Czech lottery market.
In the first phase of the launch, Synot Tip expects to place 1,200 lottery terminals in its existing betting offices and sports bars, with their number expected to rise to 4,000 following further expansion.
Synot refuses for the moment to say who its provider of hardware, software and central coordination of terminals will be. The firm Gtech already has an exclusive contract with Sazka for the Czech Republic; while Intralot is working on a rival lottery project being put together by gambling company Fortuna.
Fortuna already received clearance to go ahead with a lottery last year and expects to launch its first Kč 1.5 million instant scratch lottery ticket game May 16. Betting company Chance has also asked the Finance Ministry to proceed with its own lucky numbers lottery.
Debt-burdened Sazka is now under insolvency administration with claims against it mounting to Kč 31.8 billion, although some of these are presumably fake or duplicate claims. So numerous are creditors, totaling around 1,800, that a ballroom has been rented in Prague for a May 26 creditors’ meeting. Many of those creditors are lottery terminal operators. Some of the biggest creditors are the PPF Group of the richest Czech, Petr Kellner, and the KKCG group of entrepreneur Karel Komárek Jr.
