Brazil is proving equally incapable of privatizing its instant lottery operations as it proved incapable of legalizing other forms of gambling.

Monday brought the deadline for bids for the 15-year exclusive concession to run Lotex, the instant lottery scratch card business currently managed by the Caixa Economica Federal bank. But the deadline came and went without a single company filing a bid, leaving the government scrambling for the appropriate response.

Brazil’s Ministry of Finance had hoped to raise BRL542m (US$144m) from a July 4 auction for the Lotex concession. The money was supposed to help fund the National Public Security Fund. The auction was originally scheduled for June 14 but was pushed back in order to give companies more time to prepare their bids.

Companies that had previously expressed interest in the Lotex concession, including international lottery giants IGT, Intralot and Scientific Games, ultimately opted not to file any bids.