Lottomatica only bidder for scratchcard

Smaller rival Sisal SpA, an Italian private equity-owned gaming group which had expressed its interest for the scratchcard concession, did not file a bid, the source said. "Only Lottomatica has presented an offer," the source told Reuters asking not to be named.

Lottomatica declined to comment. Sisal said it would issue a statement, without elaborating. At 1515 GMT Lottomatica shares were up 8.57 % at 13.56 euros. Milan's blue chip index FTSE MIB was up 10.3 %.

Lottomatica holds the current scratchcard concession which runs to May 31. The new concession will be for nine years and requires an upfront 800 million euro fee to be paid to the government.

Lottomatica's consortium includes U.S.-based Scientific Games as well as the Italian federation of tobacconists.