Even before the official launch of www.gambling-privatisation.com, I feel that this free website, solely dedicated to gambling privatisations, will be a hit. And how do I know that, you will ask? Well, I know that because when I was researching and writing the privatisations stories of Milli Piyango, casino’s Sachsen-Anhalt and Montenegro’s National Lottery, I did not, or hardly got, any cooperation at all.

And there is a Golden Rule in journalism, the less cooperation you get, the better the news story will be! Milli Piyango For MECN’s report “Privatization of State-Controled Gambling Operators” I wrote an extensive privatisation story on Milli Piyango. From the Bureaucrats I did not get any cooperation at all. And after several kind requests, over a period of more than a month, my patience was running out. I wrote the top manager of the cumbersome national Turkish lottery, that I had a direct telephone number (which I happen to have!) of the Turkish MP, who is a great promoter of the Turkish privatisations, and that I was planning to phone him.

The next day I got my information of my friend the Deputy Managing Director! Casino’s Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt). The Ministry of Finance of the German State Saxony-Anhalt has selected Ernst & Young Corporate Finance Beratung GmbH (Corporate Finance) and Luther Menold Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (Legal) as the Privatisation Consortium. From them we got the asked for information.

However the annual reports are kept by the local court in Magdeburg ("Registergericht Magdeburg"). The court provides them to the public only when you come in person and pay a few box. And even it may well be that the 2004 AR is not even available yet at this point in time, but they are the only source open to the public... Instead of complaining and criticizing the fee of 620 thousand euros for the consultancy for the privatisation consortium, the opposition (PDS) of the government coalition could better ask to Mr Karl-Heinz Paqu» (FDP), the Finance Minister, why he is not opening up the financial figures of the last years operations of the two casino’s in Sachsen-Anhalt. Interested investors should be informed correctly!

A foreign interested party, asked me, if they knew, the politicians, how bad the casino’s are doing in Germany. “And than, they are even not willing to forward the financials. Wish them luck. They need it!”

Montenegro’s National Lottery. On August 15, 2005, LotteryInsider, a ‘daily gaming search engine’, made mention of a privatisation article by B92. The same day I contacted several persons for more information on this matter. I have forwarded more than 12 emails, without any reaction. Than, a direct contact to the Finance Minister could be established. And again a miracle. I received one day later a part of the asked for information.

Darmanovic• Dragan, advisor to the Ministry, informed me: “Additionally, in order to respect international standards, as well as our standard “national treatments of foreign investors“ we will prepare this information in English, as well. All documents will be provided to you.” And we will be glad to share all that information with you as well! Isn’t that real cooperation?