Inteltek faces battle to retain Turkish betting contract

Intralot subsidiary Inteltek faces a battle to retain its long-standing contract to power İddaa, Turkey’s only legal sports betting operation.

The joint venture between Intralot and mobile phone operator Turkcell has held the contract to run the SporToto brand since 2004, but faces competition from Sans Girisim, a venture comprising Scientific Games and a company owned by Turkish Football Federation chairman Yildirim Demirören.

Both groups have now filed their final financial offers with the SporToto State Organisation for a 10-year contract to run İddaa from later this year.

According to reports, Sans Girisim initially offered a revenue-share partnership of 2.1%, far ahead of Inteltek’s 1.4% – the figure it has provided its service for since it won the last 10-year contract in 2008. In the second round, local media claimed Sans Girisim reduced its offer to just 0.2% with Inteltek down to 0.5%.

The winner of the tender process to run İddaa from 2019 to 2029 will be announced following a decision made by Bünyamin Bozgeyik, the president of SporToto. SporToto stated when it launched its tender process in January that it aims to generate 17bn Lira (£2.4bn/€2.7bn/$3.1bn) in revenue from the offering’s first year in operation.

The winning bidder will be required to establish the central betting system within Ankara Province, while the risk management centre must also be based on Turkish soil.

The successful applicant will also be expected to employ at least 100 staff dedicated to the SporToto project, including management and technical support staff.

To secure the 10-year contract, applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have experience of running a sports betting network of at least 500 outlets, with at least 6,000 to be operated throughout Turkey.

Inteltek, established in 2001, has served as the exclusive provider of fixed-odds and pari-mutuel betting since 2004, and secured a new, 10-year contract in 2008. It then extended the deal by a year in August 2018.

Over the past 11 years, SporToto has seen its share of the country's sports betting market grow to 56%, with turnover rising to $3.5bn.

Last year Inteltek announced that it was to establish a software development hub in Turkey, with a focus on developing new mobile wagering products and services, employing more than 100 staff in the new facility.

SporToto is one of only two legal gambling operators in Turkey, alongside national lottery operator Millî Piyango İdaresi.