Motives and incentives in the privatization of the South Australian Lotteries

IMPACT

This case study illustrates the importance of political factors in determining policy outcomes. In addition to technical and policy considerations, practitioners must consider the political aspects of policy changes and incorporate them into their assessments. Core political considerations were incorporated into the successful privatization of the South Australian Lotteries, which were derived from an earlier unsuccessful attempt. Public servants must develop sharp political skills in order to align with the strategies of political decision-makers.

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the motives and incentives behind the privatization of the South Australian Lotteries. Our analysis yields three main insights: first, short-term financial considerations were the most important incentive in this instance of privatization. Second, a mix of instrumental and political considerations co-existed as motivating factors. Lastly, a previous (unsuccessful) privatization effort provided important guidance. These insights reveal the inadequacy of the established literature, which focuses on single-motive explanations of privatization, to account for special cases.

KEYWORDS:

• Asset sales
• lotteries
• privatization
• South Australia
• state-owned corporations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).