A SINGAPORE-BASED company has announced a US$4.5million plan to buy 25 percent of shares in Cambodia’s only licensed sports lottery.

The board of directors of PSC Corporation Ltd said Tuesday that the company had entered into a sale-and-purchase agreement with Sport Social Affairs Co (SSA) share-holders Lin Lun and Ly Hout.

The company has agreed to buy 250 shares, worth $1.25 million, representing a quarter of the share capital in the business.

SSA has imminent plans to launch a national lottery in the Kingdom. An extra $3.25 million is being included in the potential deal to take into account its earning potential.

Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Sports Foundation, which currently holds 20 percent of SSA’s shares, said Wednesday that the proposed acquisition, although yet to be finalised, is a good start for the venture.

SSA, which set up in January last year, has a 30-year exclusive agreement with the National Sports Foundation of the National Olympic Council of Cambodia.

It is the organisation’s official partner and investor in development programmes. This means it has been issued with a licence from the Ministry of Finance to become the Kingdom’s only sports lottery business.

“SSA will be the only company in Cambodia that operates the national lottery to support national sports,” added Vath Chamroeun. “Now we are preparing to open the lottery operation. It is expected to launch within the next two months.”

Last year Prime Minister cracked down on gambling in the Kingdom, targeting in particular sports betting which forced the closure of CamboSix, a chain of bookmakers across the country.