The consortium LTX Brasil, formed by the Chinese companies Genlot Game Technology and Beijing Zhongcai Printing, a joint venture between China Welfare Lottery, France Des Jeux, and Berjaya, won the Caixa bidding for the resumption of the scratch card game, known as Lotex. The contract excerpt signed with CEF was published this Wednesday (24) in the Official Gazette, ending a legal dispute initiated by one of the competitors, who raised suspicions of irregularities in the process.
With the action, which was processed in secrecy of justice, there was a delay, and now, the lottery will be launched next quarter. The initial revenue forecast varies between R$ 1 billion and R$ 2 billion, but according to executives involved, the potential is much greater.
Lotex follows the rules of a decree from the Ministry of Finance, issued at the end of last year, which delegated to Caixa, on a transitional basis, the right to exploit Lotex in the same way as the Federal Lottery.
Part of the revenue is allocated for the funding of social security, public safety, sports incentives, and culture.
It is estimated that about 65% of the revenue will be allocated to prizes. The minimum bet should be R$ 2.50.
Lotex had been included in the Jair Bolsonaro government's privatization list, but President Lula decided to keep it under public management.
Process
The action against Caixa was filed by the runner-up in the competition, who went to court claiming there had been irregularities in the process.
In the petition, the company raised the suspicion that Caixa had already chosen the Genlot consortium in May, during the process, and that the terms of competition provided for discounts on the bank's operation cost collection, which, in practice, would distort the rules of the Finance Ministry's decree.
The court ruled in favor of Caixa and, at the same time, the case went to the TCU (Court of Accounts of the Union), which found no irregularities.
Caixa stated that the contracting procedure carried out by Caixa Loterias is legally founded, being characterized as a mechanism of competitive positioning. “The competitive process respected the principles of public administration in full compliance with legal regulation, governance, and compliance of Caixa”, stated the state bank.
However, this period of discussion caused a delay of almost three months in the process. The trip that had been planned by Caixa executives to China in May had to be postponed.
Source: Folha
