Lottery Corp jumps on 40‑year licence extension; Citi says overhang removed

Lottery

05/05/2026 06:13

Updates

** Shares of Australia's Lottery Corp TLC.AX rise as much as 4.6% to A$5.71, logging their strongest intraday percentage gain since February 18

** The lottery operator leads the consumer discretionary sub-index .AXDJ higher, defying a 0.7% decline across the sector

** Company says it has secured a 40‑year extension of its Victorian public lottery licence after exclusive talks, agreeing to pay the state an upfront premium of A$1.15 billion ($823.17 million)

** Extension pushes the Victorian public lottery term to June 2068, cementing TLC's exclusivity in the state and aligning it with its other long‑dated licences

** Citi says market will respond positively as it removes an overhang and brings forward the capital management discussion

** Brokerage maintains a 'neutral' rating with a target price of A$5.1

** YTD, TLC has climbed 9%, sharply outperforming the AXDJ, which is nursing a 15% decline

($1 = 1.3970 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Anjali Singh and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru)

 ((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com; X: @thatstanishk http://www.x.com/thatstanishk;))