Turkey to privatise state sports betting enterprise

The Turkish government plans to privatise the nation’s legal sports betting organisation, Spor Toto, in June 2013 at an estimated value around $10 billion, reports the publications Hurriyet and Milliyet.

The government has already embarked on an extensive privatisation program of state assets which has included the sale of banking, roads and bridges to raise some $5.7 billion for the state.

Spor Toto is the only legally authorised Turkish betting vehicle and increased its income to $24 billion over the last eight years, largely due to the introduction of “İddaa,” Turkey’s sole legal sports gambling game.

The organisation also runs a game called “toto,” which is based on predicting the result of football matches.

Media reports claim that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ordered the start of the privatisation process of Spor Toto, with a target of raising some $10 billion as valued by the High Privatisation Board.

The prime minister is to determine the sale model, according to Milliyet, and will select either a “direct sale” or a “public offering,” which targets mostly long term investors composed of foreign capital.

The latter is favoured by government advisors since it is viewed as potentially more profitable.