The Olympic Committee of Slovenia (OKS) announced yesterday (11 December) that it no longer intends to participate in the sale of the country’s monopoly sports betting operator.

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The OKS, which owns a 20% stake in the Sports Lottery, issued a statement outlining its reasons for no longer participating in the search for a new strategic partner.

Alongside the Committee, the Ski Association of Slovenia (SKZ), the Lottery of Slovenia and the country’s Football Association own a 20%, 20% and 17.3% share of the operator each, all of which have given their consent for the sale.

Franjo Bobinac (pictured), president of the OKS, said at the shareholder meeting: “We have become aware of the company’s fairly successful operations in recent times. The management board and supervisory board have informed us of the potential risks in organising sports betting in the country.

“These are significant, so we explained to the management that we will try to take our next steps in the operation of the Sports Lottery in a unified manner, whether they follow the current independent lottery path or within the framework of a strategic partnership.”

The OKS outlined the Sports Lottery’s revenue could be under threat from a potential liberalisation of the gaming market, which could negatively affect the business’ operations and mean additional capital investments would be needed.

Due to the committee lacking the necessary funds for this, it said it has examined all potential options, including a sale.

Future of gambling in Slovenia

In accordance with this strategy, OKS said it intends to continue to advocate for the security and long-term sustainability of its investment.

The committee said: “The future regulation of gambling in Slovenia is uncertain, as a change in the national strategy is planned. In these circumstances, we will focus on issues that are essential for the future operation of the company.”

Following a backlash from the Slovenian public, in 2023 it was announced that Entain or SuperBet would no longer pursue any potential acquisition of the Sports Lottery.

Much of the controversy revolved around whether the monopoly’s sale would negatively affect the country’s sports sector, which is largely funded by betting revenue.

The country’s Ministry of Finance also announced last autumn it intended to shake-up the gambling industry through “further systematic changes”.

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