LotSynergy-Tabcorp venture to vie for supply of video lottery equipment
China LotSynergy and Tabcorp, Australia's largest lottery hardware and software supplier, have joined forces to bid for the right to provide video lottery equipment throughout the mainland.
The successful bidder is expected to be announced by the end of this year or early next.
Apart from the China LotSynergy-Tabcorp joint venture, all other candidates are leading European and US companies in their fields.
John Sun, vice-chairman and chief executive of China LotSynergy, which is a 33 per cent shareholder in the joint venture, said it was hoped the partnership's connections on the mainland and its technical expertise would give it an advantage over rivals.
China LotSynergy-Tabcorp, which recently secured a mainland franchise for Keno - a popular numbers game like Mark Six in places such as Australia - is the latest group to declare its intention to bid for the mainland lottery equipment franchise.
The central government's recent decision to allow foreign interests to bid for the provision of lottery hardware and software services, and to lift the payout ratio to game players to 65 per cent to 75 per cent, is seen as a move to win over punters from illegal gambling.