Telenor unofficially drops out of $100 mn lottery tender one day before decision

With the deadline for awarding a $100 million online operator contract for state lottery Totalizator Sportowy (TS) passing today, one of the two bidders, Telenor of Norway, turned out unable to guarantee execution of the contract, claims Rzeczpospolita quoting unofficial sources. Neither Telenor, nor TS president Wladyslaw Jamrozy would comment on these revelations. The Norwegian headquarters of the company was supposed to guarantee execution of the contract, as TS management viewed Telnor's local office as not credible enough. According to unofficial information, Telenor did not provide such a guarantee but asked for a few more days to put finishing touches on the agreement. However, it is unlikely TS will agree to this motion, as this would jeopardize the timetable of the tender. It now appears U.S.-based GTECH, TS's current online operator, has all but won the new contract. "It would be a miracle if Telenor was selected," said an anonymous source from TS. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B2) T.J.