Tattersall’s Gets Lottery

Tattersall’s has purchased the Golden Casket lottery business. Or so they say. The Queensland Government owns the lottery, and has sold it to Tattersall’s for $530 million, which seems like a bargain for the country’s second largest gaming group. However, the government still keeps the name, still gets the taxes, and the surplus from the lottery.

The taxes on the lottery amount to about $185 million a year, and they will continue to collect those even though Tattersall’s now owns them. There was also a surplus of $150 million that Queensland will keep as well. So it looks as though Queensland really still owns them and Tattersall’s will only be managing the business.

The deal seems low as far as purchasing goes, but that is probably only because they didn’t get a lot for it. Now, they have the right to use the name royalty free until 2072, so that is a nice coup; and no other lottery licenses are going to be issued before 2018. They have agreed to keep it in Queensland, and they will fund it since it will add to the company’s earnings.

The government is taking the money it is getting out of the deal and building a new children’s hospital in Brisbane, which will cost $700 million. They did not know how they were going to pay for it originally, and the treasurer says that they are excited to have a way to pay for it that does not involve taxpayers having to pony up the amount needed.

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