Bally to provide gaming devices to Italian lottery

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Bally Technologies will provide more than 5,000 gaming devices and systems to Italy's video lottery program after announcing an additional agreement with Italian concessionaire Lottomatica Videolot Rete.

Under the deal, Bally will provide the company with 800 slot machine-like devices.

Las Vegas-based Bally has a large presence in the Italian market as a provider of gambling devices for the new video-lottery program being implemented in public venues. Bally expects to begin delivery later this year.

"We're confident that this initial order will be the beginning of a long relationship and lead to tremendous opportunities in Italy," Marco Herrera, the company's vice president and managing director of Bally Europe and Africa, said in a statement.

Roth Capital Markets gaming analyst Todd Eilers said Bally will have roughly 10 percent of Italy's video-lottery market.

"We believe Bally's presence in Italy provides an important platform to expand into similar VLT markets, like potentially Greece, down the road," Eilers said.

Shares of Bally Technologies fell 42 cents, or 1.13 percent, Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $36.82. They have fallen 12.7 percent this year.