GTech loses exclusive talks on Pennsylvania lottery

MILAN, March 11 (Reuters) - The delayed launch of a lottery sales terminal has cost GTech, the U.S. unit of the world's largest lottery operator Lottomatica (LTO.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), its exclusive talks on a Pennsylvania deal and it must face a rival bidder.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lottomatica said the Pennsylvania Lottery had decided to seek final offers from two bidders, adding "previously the lottery had announced its intent to award the contract to GTech and had entered into negotiations."

Lottomatica added that in the talks, GTech had suggested replacing its Imagine terminal with the Altura version, as the Imagine unit "would not meet the implementation schedule of the Lottery," given a delay in its formal market launch.

"The delayed launch of the Imagine terminal is unfortunate but necessary," GTech Chief Executive Officer Jaymin Patel said in a statement.

"We have every expectation of successfully meeting the Lottery's requirements in Pennsylvania," he added.

Lottomatica said in the statement it did not expect the delayed launch of Imagine to have "any material financial impact on its long-term outlook." (Reporting by Jo Winterbottom; Editing by David Cowell)