State lottery companies to merge in light of PML's liquidity problems

The only two state-owned lottery companies, Totalizator Sportowy and Polski Monopol Loteryjny (PML), will merge as PML is unable to pay off considerable debts it owes the state, according to an anonymous source quoted by daily Rzeczpospolita. Treasury Minister Aldona Kamela-Sowinska said in a statement from March 23 that PML is currently enduring solvency problems and, as such, is having trouble meeting its financial obligations toward Poland's budget and the Social Insurance Company (ZUS). PML is currently involved in litigation concerning the sale of its most valuable holding, a stake in lottery operator Totolotek, which it unloaded to the company BIS without receiving necessary approval to do so from the Finance Ministry. BIS is suing PML for allegedly not informing it of this fact. Moreover, it is probable that if the merger is approved, Totolotek will also likely sue PML for allegedly breaching its agreement for exclusive distribution of lottery tickets. TS's supervisory board is due tomorrow to decide on whether to sanction the merger. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B3) M.T.