Victoria Auditor-General to review AU$1.15bn lottery licence extension

The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) will review the Victorian Government’s 40-year extension of The Lottery Corporation’s public lottery licence, following scrutiny over the value and transparency of the agreement.

The deal extends the operator’s exclusive commercial lottery rights in Victoria until 30 June 2068. The Lottery Corporation will pay AU$1.145bn ($821m) upfront, with AU$250m due in July 2026 and AU$895m due in October 2026.

VAGO said: “We plan to examine if the public lottery licence extension optimised value for the State.” 

The review will cover the Department of Treasury and Finance, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Department of Justice and Community Safety and the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission.

Victoria’s existing 10-year public lottery licence was due to expire on 30 June 2028. The extension was agreed after exclusive bilateral negotiations between the Government and The Lottery Corporation, rather than through a public tender.

The Lottery Corporation, formed in 2022 following Tabcorp’s demerger of its lotteries and keno division, operates brands including The Lott and Keno. Its subsidiary Tattersall’s Sweeps has held a public lottery licence in Victoria since 1954.

The operator said the extension aligns Victoria with its longer-dated lottery licences in other Australian jurisdictions and removes a major renewal event from its calendar until 2050, when its New South Wales licence is next due. 

The agreement has drawn criticism from opposition politicians, the Australian Greens and gambling reform advocates, who have questioned whether the state secured fair value and whether the process maintained sufficient competitive pressure. 

Victorian Liberal leader Jess Wilson said: “There are serious questions to answer about whether taxpayers have got value for money.”

The review is expected to report early in the next Australian financial year, which begins on 30 June 2026.

In February 2026, Victoria’s gambling regulator issued its largest club or hotel penalty for this category of offences, fining the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery AU$150,000 over multiple compliance failures.