Greek Intralot to operate Brazil state lottery

ATHENS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The world's second-largest lottery system provider, Intralot (INLr.AT), will be the new on-line operator of the state lottery of Rio de Janeiro, LOTERJ, in Brazil, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Intralot's Brazilian subsidiary will first operate a new Keno-style numbers game, combined with instant lottery that will be available by the end of 2008 in an initial network of 1,000 points of sale connected on-line, the company said.

"We hope that this contract will constitute the first, but decisive step of Intralot in the Brazilian market," Constantinos Antonopoulos, Intralot's chief executive, said. "We are looking forward to further strengthening our presence in the country, monitoring new business opportunities."

The gaming portfolio as well as the network are expected to expand further, and Intralot do Brasil will have the complete operation of the games, the statement said.

Intralot, is present in 45 countries and also runs sports betting in 12 countries. (Reporting by George Hatzidakis; Editing by Paul Bolding)