Tatts Group is a lottery company that services Australia as a whole. It has various subsidiaries that concentrate on various sectors of the country. Its subsidiary, Tatts Lottery, concentrates on lotteries in Victoria. The recent acquisition by Tatts Lottery of the Victorian Public Lottery license means that they have exclusive right to conduct lotteries in Victoria, Australia for the next ten years. Its full list of types of lottery games includes insanely popular games like Tattslotto, Powerball, and Oz Lotto, as well as a whole bunch of lesser known but still popular instant scratch-its.
For this privilege, Tatts will pay $120 million for the license which begins on July 1, 2018, and ends on July 30, 2028. This is a very mutually beneficial relationship with the Victorian government. The government benefits because with the very substantial payments they have been able to finance a whole host of financial reforms. This mutual relationship has existed since 1954. However, the Tatts company has existed since the latter years of the 19th century. But its ride to the top has not always been smooth. Just last year, it was forced to hand over $540 million in lost pokies money to the government.
This was money that the Tatts claimed the government owed them. However, in the end, the courts ruled against them and in the favor of the government. This was actually a very opportune time for the government who was currently desperately in need of these funds to finance its huge infrastructure projects. The Tatts management has been very open about the fact that this was very hard for their company. After the decision against them, the company share prices fell by 8%. Nevertheless, it is not something that will really hinder the continuing rise of Tatts.
It’s scratch-its, which are still growing in popularity, have only been around since February 2015. Tim Palls, the Treasurer of the Victorian government, was especially ecstatic, citing this as a huge win for both the government and the citizens it serves. Tabcorp, the biggest rival of Tatts, has also been trying to win a massive amount from the government ($687), a case which they also lost. Still, their shares went up 35 cents following the Tatts loss. Despite the changes in the value of the shares of these two companies, Tatts is still seen as the most prized asset of its kind in Australia. The Australian Competition Tribunal (or ACT) obviously agreed, awarding the company the bid for licensing.
