Camelot chief who headed Irish lotto licence bid to leave

The man who spearheaded the acquisition of the Irish lottery for the owners of UK operator Camelot is to part ways with the company.

Alex Kovach is stepping down as managing director of Camelot Global Services Limited (CGSL) just months after securing the Irish licence for Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. He had been expected to take a position on the board of the new Irish operating entity, Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), in conjunction with his role in Camelot's international arm.

However, it is understood his post was axed under a restructuring of the group, which will see Camelot split in two later this year, with the creation of a standalone international business.

The latter will be headed by the company's finance director, Nigel Railton, who has also been installed as a director of PLI. In a statement, Camelot said the changes would have no effect on its involvement in the running of the Irish franchise.

Business as usual

"With CGSL and Camelot UK already benefiting from a shared pool of technology development, business services resources and expertise – there will be no effect on CGSL's role in helping PLI to drive National Lottery sales in Ireland, and therefore returns to good causes, through mobile, tablet and desktop devices," it said.

Confirming Mr Kovach's departure, Camelot chief executive Dianne Thompson praised him for his help in expanding the company's global reach and in particular for his role in supporting its shareholder, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, in winning the 20-year operating licence in Ireland

Camelot's ambitions to break into the US market were stymied last year when its winning bid in Pennsylvania was scuppered by an objection from the state's attorney general.

However, beating off long-time rival Gtech to win the Irish licence was seen as a high point in an otherwise difficult year.

In a recent interview with The Irish Times, Mr Kovach said PLI hoped to generate 15 per cent of lottery sales in Ireland through its online channel within five years of taking up the licence, as it tries to claw back its €405 million outlay for the business. He also insisted that greater participation from the interactive space would not cannibalise street sales, as some retailers fear.

Rail link

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which bought Camelot in 2010 for £389 million (€460 million), is also understood to be eyeing a stake in Britain's controversial HS2, the proposed high-speed rail link that will connect London and the north of England. The pension fund already owns part of the High Speed 1 link, which connects London's St Pancras with the tunnel link to France.