Belgian National Lottery discusses privatisation
The CEO of the National Lottery in Belgium said that it would be a great opportunity for investors to privatise the lottery.
Belgium.- Jannie Haek, CEO of the National Lottery of Belgium (Loterie Nationale), believes that it would be great to see the company partially quoted on the Stock Exchange. He said to privatise the National Lottery in Belgium would be a great opportunity for local investors.
Haek spoke about the lottery being privatised and mentioned French company Française des Jeux, which the sale of its shares through an IPO resulted in more than €2 billion for the local government.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that the decision doesn’t depend on Haek, Brussels Time reported. He said that the Belgian Government would be in charge of deciding whether the lottery is privatised or not.
“The CEO can wish it, but we, the Government, are the owners. It’s for the owners to decide what they do with the company,” he said. De Croo added that the next government will decide on the lottery. “I do not wish to prejudge the facts. A new government will soon be formed, I hope.”
However, he also said that while speaking about the privatisation is interesting, it is not a matter of urgency in Belgium, the news outlet informed.
Union ACOD/CGSP is against the idea
Kurt Sissau of the union’s Flemish wing, ACOD, said: “When la Française des Jeux announced that it was going to be quoted on the Stock Exchange, we presented the project at a workers’ committee meeting. We were told then that this was not on the agenda at the National Lottery.”
The union is against such privatisation and that it will take into consideration the possible consequences on the staff.
National Lottery to enhance online offering
The lottery has partnered with IWG. The three-year contract will help the lottery enhance its online gambling offering. It will also help the lottery continue with its campaign to grow digital channels.
The partnership allows the lottery to select more than 100 titles from IWG’s portfolio. This is possible by integrating the Progressive Play remote server into the IGT lottery platform in Belgium. IWG will also support the Belgian National Lottery through strategy and marketing.
