Irish Government thinking about selling National Lottery

DUBLIN – With the cash strapped Spanish government set to sell it’s Loterias y Apuestas de Estado (State Lotteries) company and possibly make €7 billion profit; another EU country struggling for money – Ireland – is considering taking similar action to raise some funds.

The Irish National Lottery has been included in a list of assets which could be sold by the Government, according Ireland’s national news service RTÉ News.

Last year the company, which employes 100 people, raised €770m from the sales of lottery tickets and other products.

It gave away €420m in prize money and its costs were €108m, leaving it with €244m to donate to good causes.

The National Lottery is one of the most successful state owned companies: it is not a drain on the Exchequer and it generates plenty of money for good causes.

It is being valued to assess how much it could raise as part of a programme on disposal of State assets.

The privatisation of the Spanish Lottery begins Tuesday 6 September. It is set to be the largest ever Spanish stock market listing, with just 30 per cent of the state owned company raising up to €9bn.