Sisal Group, an Italian lottery and sports betting operator, plans to "organizationally restructure" to separate its payments subsidiary, Mooney Group, from its primary B2C gambling operation.

Currently, Sisal, which among other things runs the Italian SuperEnalotto lottery, holds a 70% share in Mooney Group.

These shares will be transferred to a newly formed holding company called SG2 S.p.A. as part of the recently initiated demerger, which will be directly held by UK private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. Among many other gambling-related companies in Europe, CVC also owns Sisal.

In the spring of 2016, the private equity and investment advisory firm paid €1 billion to acquire the Italian gaming operator.

The remaining B2C gaming, betting, and lottery businesses, all of which are now under Sisal S.p.management, A.'s will then be given over to Sisal Group. Sisal Group is the owner of both Mooney Group and Sisal S.p.A.

The demerger, according to the Italian gambling operator, is intended to "rationalize and reorganize the control chain of the firm." Sisal went on to explain that the action is a component of the company's bigger corporate restructuring strategy, which has as its ultimate objective "better defining the functions and key objectives of the group."

Demerger to be finished in the autumn

In November 2021, Sisal aims to complete the demerger of its payment services operation, subject to regulatory clearances from Italian authorities with the necessary jurisdiction.

Since its establishment in 1946, the gambling operator has grown to become one of Italy's top B2C providers of gaming and sports betting services. In addition to managing more than 45,000 retail locations around the nation, it also successfully operates an internet business in one of Europe's biggest regulated markets.

Additionally, Sisal wants to unseat Camelot as the UK's National Lottery provider. The Italian company submitted a combined bid for the fourth lottery license tender in April after collaborating with telecom giant BT. It declared that it will adopt new technology to increase the attraction of lottery games to local players if it were to acquire the UK lottery license.

The licensing tender was published by the UK Gambling Commission in August 2020, and the winning bidder is anticipated to be revealed early next month.

Since 1994, Camelot has been in charge of conducting the UK National Lottery. In 2023, its license is scheduled to expire. Major Indian lottery operator Sugal & Damani and pan-European lottery behemoth Sazka Group are also vying for the fourth licensing offer, which may allow them access to the lucrative UK market.