AWI files complaint in state lottery online system affair

U.S.-based Automated Wagering International (AWI) has filed a letter of complaint to Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Finance Minister Jaroslaw Bauc and Treasury Minister Andrzej Chronowski, as well as U.S. Ambassador to Poland Christopher Hill, regarding the Polish state lottery Totalizator Sportowy (TS) management board and its tender for an online system operator for TS. Last Sunday, when the short list of candidates included AWI, GTECH and Telenor, TS president Wladyslaw Jamrozy and his deputy Zbigniew Wujec decided to exclude AWI from further negotiations, basing their decision on the second analysis of the competing parties. The first analysis conducted last year showed AWI as the best candidate, while the second carried out this year judged AWI the weakest candidate. AWI's representatives say the company was not given a chance to quote its price for the contract and thus it appeared poorest in the second analysis. TS's negotiating team informed AWI that the management would take care of the issue, but AWI's president John Beach maintains that TS management did not react in any way. Additionally, AWI says that although it was granted exclusive negotiation rights, TS continued to negotiate with the remaining candidates. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) A.Z.