Competition Council Fines Romanian Lottery Operator and Partners

Three gambling companies were awarded exclusive deals with the Romanian lottery.

After signing an agreement which would have given them monopoly on video lottery operations, three gambling operators, as well as the Romanian National Lottery were sanctioned by the state’s Competition Council.

According to local gambling news, the four companies signed a contract which included a non-compete clause, stipulating that the state-run lottery is forbidden to take on any other partners for similar video-lottery programs for a period of ten years.

Intralot SA Integrated Lottery Systems and Services, Intracom SA Holdings, Lotrom SA and the state-owned lottery operator will have to pay a total of EUR 3.76 million in fines.

Exclusive deal to annihilate competition

Several operators made offers to collaborate with the state-run lottery service, but the non-compete clause restricted the access of all companies producing or selling video lottery terminals.

“According to Romanian gambling laws, the National Lottery owns the exclusive rights to run video-lottery programs in the country. The clause written in the agreement has eliminated all competition, by allowing only one such program for a period of ten years,” explained Bogdan Chiritoiu, president of the Competition Council.

The four partners have broken both state and European laws, by awarding preferential rights to certain companies and encouraging monopoly in the lottery industry. The National Lottery will have to pay a fine of over EUR 2 million, while Intralot was fined with EUR 1,2 million, Intracom with almost EUR 400,000 and Lotrom with only EUR 114,000.