Greek Intralot buys Italian William Hill Codere

ATHENS, July 2 (Reuters) - Greek lottery system supplier Intralot (INLr.AT) bought Italian group William Hill Codere (WHCI) as part of plans to strengthen its position in the Italian market, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Intralot will pay 5.5 million euros ($8.68 million) for WHCI, adding a further 55 outlets for horse-racing and sports betting in Italy and expanding in the north of the country, it said in a statement.

William Hill Plc (WMH.L) and Grupo Codere established the WHCI joint venture in 2006.

Intralot's Italian unit already has 416 exclusive point-of-sale licences and a further 164 non-exclusive licences to operate in the country, and is one of the top three gaming companies in Italy, it said.

Intralot, the world's second-largest lottery systems provider, is present in 45 countries and also runs sports betting in 12 countries. (Reporting by George Hatzidakis; Editing by Louise Ireland)