Indian firm loses bid to run UK national lottery

Indian lottery firm Sugal and Damani has lost a bid to run the national lottery in Britain.

London, Aug.8 : Indian lottery firm Sugal and Damani has lost a bid to run the national lottery in Britain.

Sugan and Damani was defeated by Camelot, which won the right to continue running the National Lottery on Tuesday, The Scotsman reports.

A key element of Camelot's bid was its proposal to set up a worldwide mega- lottery, which will create up to 100 millionaire winners each month.

The World Lottery Draw will involve lottery operators in the United States, Australasia and Europe and offer a multi-million-pound annual jackpot and monthly draws.

The license, the third in the lottery's history, will come into effect in February 2009 and last for 10 years.

Camelot has run the National Lottery since its launch in 1994 and said it expected to conclude talks with the National Lottery Commission this month.

Camelot will now start talks to finalize the terms of its agreement.

"We now need to agree the final form of the license," the BBC quoted Dianne Thompson, Camelot's chief executive, as saying.

Sugal and Damani has been chosen as the reserve preferred bidder, and would be eligible to start talks should there be any problems between Camelot and the commission.

Kamlesh Vijay, the CEO of Sugal and Damani, said the company was "disappointed" by the outcome of the process.

Besides its other responsibilities, the next National Lottery operator is expected to hit targets for raising funds for the 2012 Olympics.

About 2.2 billion pounds is currently earmarked from Lottery funds for the Olympics, with 750 million pounds expected to come from specially designated games.

ANI