Scientific Games / EssNet

Scientific Games Corp., a lottery ticket supplier, said Friday it agreed to acquire substantially all of the online lottery assets of the Swedish firm EssNet AB for about $60 million.

EssNet specializes in online lottery systems and terminals to run numbers games, sports betting, instant tickets and mobile games on a national level.

Lottery customers include seven states in Germany, the national lotteries of Hungary and Norway, Golden Casket and Tattersall's Lottery in Australia and other national lotteries.

The acquisition will include substantially all of EssNet's existing online lottery contracts, as well as related technology and intellectual property. Scientific Games will also retain EssNet's technical staff and game designers.

EssNet's reported online lottery revenues for the first six months of 2005 were roughly $16 million.

Scientific Games will finance the purchase under its existing $250 million revolving credit facility. The company expects the acquisition to boost earnings.

Scientific Games shares rose 15 cents to $31.16 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.

(c) AP