UPDATE 2-Lottomatica to bid for scratch game; H1 profit up

* Says it, partners to bid in new tender for scratch game

* H1 net up, but below analysts' expectations

* CEO says H1 encouraging for H2 prospects

* CFO says premature to talk about bond issue (Adds CFO interview, comments on scratch bid, bond)

By Nigel Tutt

MILAN, July 30 (Reuters) - Italy's Lottomatica SpA (LTO.MI), said on Thursday it would bid with its current partners to renew its scratch-and-win betting game concession as its first-half net profit failed to meet expectations.

Parliament is set this week to approve government changes to scratch-and-win betting, which include moving from a single concession, held by a consortium led by Lottomatica, to a multi-concession regime of up to four operators and an 800 million euro ($1.1 billion) upfront charge.

Italy's gaming industry has proven to be recession-proof, with overall bets in the first half of the year up 10.8 percent to 26.3 billion euros. Lottomatica's scratch and win business is worth 9 billion euros a year in bets.

Chief Executive Marco Sala told a conference call he believed that scratch-and-win would continue to be "a highly successful and profitable part of our business in Italy ... and (I am) confident that we will lead and dominate this market segment."

Chief Financial Officer Stefano Bortoli said during the conference call that he believed Lottomatica would stay within its loan covenants even if scratch-and-win goes to a multiple concession system with upfront fees to fund.

In further comments during a Reuters interview, Bortoli said he expected the 800 million-euro upfront fee to be shared among the winners of the concession.

"In the case that there will be two or three or four (winning) offers we will succeed to keep inside the covenants," he said.

"It is difficult to say (if there will be four concession holders) because it depends not only on technical capacity but also financial capacity," he said.

On possible competitors, Bortoli said Italy's private-equity owned Sisal gaming company could bid while international competitors could include Greece's Intralot (INLr.AT).

One analyst has said that a factor likely to reduce the number of bidders is the lack of specialised ticket printers, given that Scientific Games SGMS.MI is already in Lottomatica's consortium and another printer GTECH is a Lottomatica U.S. unit.

However, Bortoli said Canada's Pollard was another possible printer for bidders, noting that Pollard is "No. 2 in the world."

Lottomatica holds 63 percent in the current concession consortium and Scientific Games SGMS.MI has a 20 percent stake, though Sala in the call said these stakes could change in the new concession consortium.

The government was expected to award the scratch and win concessions by the end of this year in order to replace Lottomatica's single concession expiring May 31, 2010.

On the first half, Lottomatica said net profit rose to 94.0 million euros, from 78.0 million a year earlier, and lower than a mean estimate of 102 million euros in an Reuters poll and just within the range of 93 million to 112 million euros.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 8 percent to 430.6 million euros, compared to a mean average of 437 million euros in the Reuters poll.

"The results of the first half have been overall good and we are encouraged by the prospects that we have for the second half of the year," Chief Executive Marco Sala said in a statement.

In the Reuters interview, Bortoli said the company is "confident of respecting" its guidance for 2009, announced at the end of April and which was not specifically included in Thursday's presentation.

Lottomatica's board meeting on Thursday took no decision on any bond issue, he said, adding that market conditions are "effervescent."

"The board today has not approved anything otherwise it would have been communicated. We are still studying the market and opportunities. It is premature," he said.

Lottomatica shares closed up 1.35 percent at 15.06 euros.

(Writing by Nigel Tutt; Editing by Karen Foster and Richard Chang)