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New York
Lottery Extends GTECH's Online/Instants System Contract for an Additional Three
Years
Expected Revenue
in Excess of $200 Million Over Three-Year Period
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, USA (March 1, 2007) -- GTECH
Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lottomatica S.p.A., announced that it
has signed a three- year contract extension to continue providing lottery
products and services to the New York Lottery through February 28, 2010. With
respect to this contract extension, GTECH expects to receive in excess of $200
million in revenue over the three-year period.
"The New York Lottery is one of the most successful
lotteries in the United States, with total online and instant ticket sales
expected to surpass $6.5 billion in its fiscal year ending in March 2007," said
W. Bruce Turner, GTECH President & CEO and Lottomatica S.p.A. CEO. "We are
grateful to the Lottery for their continued confidence in our Company, and are
proud to be a partner in the commitment of our customers to maximize returns
for their good causes, such as education."
Under the terms of the contract extension, GTECH will
continue its role as the Lottery's online and instant ticket system and ongoing
service provider through February 2010. GTECH currently provides a variety of
equipment and services for the Lottery including operation of the central
system; system and terminal maintenance; field service; hotline management; and
marketing support.
The New York Lottery has been a valued GTECH customer
since 1986. As one of the top performing and most efficient lotteries in the
world, New York's Lottery will return to the state more than $2.3 billion in
total aid to education this fiscal year on revenues generated across all gaming
products.
GTECH is a leading gaming technology and services
company, providing innovative technology, creative content, and superior
service delivery. Lottomatica is one of the world's largest commercial lottery
operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry. GTECH and
Lottomatica together create a fully integrated lottery operator and gaming
technology solutions provider - a combined company with worldwide scale,
considerable financial strength, and industry-leading customer solutions.
Lottomatica is majority owned by the De Agostini Group, a century-old
publishing, media, and financial services company. Lottomatica is publicly
traded on the Italian Stock Exchange (LTO), and in FY 2005, had more than euro
1.6 billion in revenues and 6,000 employees in over 50 countries when combined
with GTECH.
CONTACT: Robert K. Vincent, Public Affairs, GTECH
Corporation, 401-392-7452 SOURCE: GTECH Corporation.
NZ Lotteries Half Year Results Up On Previous
Year
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (February
28, 2007) -- NZ Lotteries has again posted a
strong result for the six months ended 31 December 2006, NZ Lotteries’
Chair John Goulter announced today.
The results were released in the NZ
Lotteries 2006 Half Year Report today.
“Sales, for the period, of
$377 million were $17.8 million (5%) ahead of the same period last year.
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“The net surplus for the
half year was $77.8 million, up 5.2% on last year.
“The result reflects the
favourable impact of Big Wednesday’s addition to the NZ Lotteries family,
the rejuvenating of the Instant Kiwi brand as ‘the little thriller’,
the 1,000th Draw promotion, and the opening of further outlets around the
country,” said NZ Lotteries’ Chief Executive, Todd McLeay.
At the end of December 2006 there
were 940 lottery outlets compared with 830 a year earlier and 700 at the end of
the 2004. In the same period 143 existing stores were refurbished using the
new-look format, and more than three-quarters of the network now has the new
format.
“Seventy players won Lotto
First Division, winning an average of $340,000 each, with seven also winning
Lotto Powerball prizes ranging from $1.3 million to $9.6 million.
“We also celebrated our 1,000th
Draw in August 2006, where we held a special promotion with 1,100 extra prizes
up for grabs. The support we received from players, for this and other
promotions, was particularly gratifying,” said Mr. McLeay.
SOURCE: NZ Lotteries.
OPAP S.A. Presentation at the Association of Members Listed to the
Athens Exchange
OPAP Expects IT Tender to be
Finalised Shortly
ATHENS, Greece (February 23, 2007)
-- On February 22, the presentation of OPAP
S.A. at the Association of Members Listed to the Athens Exchange took
place. Mr. B. Neiadas, Chief Executive Officer, Mr I. Saraintaris, General
Manager of Finance and Development, Mr. E. Magganas, Manager of Shareholder
Relations, Mr. N. Polymenakos Investor Relations Consultant, were present on
behalf of the company while reference was made on the latest corporate
developments and the nine month 2006 financial results.
More specifically, detailed
reference was made on the in house organization, operation and management of
the STIHIMA game as of 30/01/2007. As noted by the Chief Executive Officer for
a six month period the operation and management of the game will be conducted
by the Betting Division while INTRALOT will provide consulting services. Within
this period the transfer of know-how to OPAP executives will be concluded.
Thereafter the Chief Executive
Officer commented on the course of the company’s two main games, STIHIMA
and KINO, contributing approximately 90% to total turnover. As of August 2006
the STIHIMA game incorporates clubs of the Greek leagues with satisfactory
results. As regards KINO, the revenues of which in the third quarter of 2006
noted significant improvement (13% increase), the expansion of the playing
hours as of 22/09/2006 contributed to the games’ optimal course in the
fourth quarter.
Regarding the international tender
for the supply of the technological equipment currently under way, the Chief
Executive Officer noted that the Committee is at the final evaluation stage of
the technical offers submitted by the three participating companies, assessing
that the process will be shortly concluded.
Also, the new business plan will be
announced following approval by the ministers of Finance and Sport.
Lastly, with respect to the
financial results the Chief Executive Officer referred to their on-going
positive course and extensively analysed the nine month 2006 results with
reported revenues of €3.374m, versus €2.599m in the respective period
of 2005 (30% increase), EBITDA at €514.0m, up 6.0% on 2005 and net profit
at €355.4m, 12.4% up with respect to the nine month period of 2005. The
significant increase in turnover was primarily due to the ongoing success of
the Stihima game following implementation of the rejuvenation measures in the
second half of 2005 coupled with the improvement in the performance of KINO in
the third quarter of the year.
Click here for the
Presentation
SOURCE: OPAP S.A.
NASPL/WLA -
WORLD MEET 2007
OCTOBER 3-6, 2007
Louisville, Kentucky Hosted by the Kentucky Lottery
Corporation
Clint Harris CEO Minnesota State Lottery NASPL
President |
Dear friends and colleagues,
Every year lotteries
in North America gather together for the learning experience we know as the
NASPL conference. And every year we come
away challenged, enlightened and enthused from our interactions with our
colleagues
Now multiply this experience by 75 countries on six
continents! You’ll see why I’m excited to invite you to
World Meet
’07 in Louisville, Kentucky. It will be a unique opportunity for you
and your staff to learn from the best the world has to offer. And, of course,
all this knowledge will come with an extra helping of that legendary Kentucky
hospitality, courtesy of Arch Gleason and the staff of the Kentucky Lottery
Corporation.
Last year I had the privilege of representing NASPL at
the World Lottery Association’s
conference in Singapore. I found that despite differences in language and
culture, we have a tremendous amount in common. It was an incredible learning
experience for me, and I found myself wishing that more of my colleagues from
North America could have been there to share it with me. Now only a year later,
my wish is being granted.
For those of you in North America, World Meet ’07
presents a unique opportunity to look beyond our boundaries for the
world’s most innovative ideas and solutions. And I’m excited by the
chance to share the North American experience with my colleagues from
overseas.
But wherever you’re from, you won’t want to miss this
unique opportunity to visit a beautiful and historic city, meet old friends and
make new ones, and, most importantly, come away better able to meet the
challenge of helping our organizations raise money for good causes.
See you
there.
Clint Harris
CEO
Minnesota State Lottery
NASPL President
INTRALOT to Continue Business in Turkey, Turkish Parliament Amends
Betting Law
INTRALOT's Inteltek Unit Wins Legal
Protection For Turkish Betting Deal
ATHENS, Greece (February 23, 2007)
– INTRALOT, the world’s
third-largest lottery systems supplier said earlier yesterday the Turkish
Parliament has approved legislation to preserve the contract its unit Inteltek
has with the state betting organisation Spor Toto to run its profitable fixed
odds betting game Iddaa in the country.
Last month, a Turkish appeals court
ruled that Inteltek might have to stop operating sports betting activities for
Turkey's state lottery Sport Toto.
INTRALOT said the legislation (see
below), which has yet to be approved by the President of the Turkish Republic,
preserves Intelteck's existing contract until a new tender process is launched
by Spor Toto.
Analyst Nikos Lianeris of Proton
Bank said the development 'eases the uncertainly that burdened Intralot's
short-term share price performance'.
He said that assuming the new tender
is launched in around a year's time, and taking into account the length of the
tender process, it seems that even under the worst case scenario INTRALOT will
not lose its business in Turkey for at least two and half years.
SOURCE: Wire Service Reports
INTRALOT
ANNOUNCEMENT
ATHENS, Greece (February 24, 2007) -- Further to
INTRALOT’s announcement dated 23.2.2007 in relation to the law that the
Turkish Parliament voted, it is clarified that according to the final text of
the provision which has been voted and came to the attention of the company,
the continuation of the game Iddaa (Betting) will be done through a direct
award or through other suitable means, until the realization of a new tender
which must be conducted within one year. The law also provides that the awarded
entity which will undertake the work must start the operation of the game
within six months of the contract date.
SOURCE: INTRALOT
Dynasty Gaming Approved For OTC Bulletin Board
Trading
MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada (February
22, 2007) -- Dynasty Gaming Inc. (TSXV:
"DNY"; OTCBB: "DNYFF") is pleased to announce that all approvals for the
trading of its shares on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board (OTC BB:
www.otcbb.com) have been received and trading began on February 16 under the
symbol "DNYFF".
The final "F" in the symbol denotes
a foreign company listing, as Dynasty is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Albert Barbusci, chief executive of
Dynasty Gaming, stated, "We are happy to have this OTC BB listing process
completed.
"Apart from those U.S. investors
already holding our shares, a considerable number of other U.S. institutions
and money managers have expressed an interest in investing in our company,
provided Dynasty's shares could be traded on a U.S.-based market.
"By securing approval for the
trading of our shares on the OTC BB, we have met this condition, and we are
confident that an expanded base of U.S. investors will result.
"We are certain that we will
attain sufficient liquidity on the OTC BB, so as to provide a suitable market
for our shares traded in the United States."
Dynasty has made significant and
important strides in developing Chinese marketing partners and distributions
channels for its Mahjong gaming software.
China is acknowledged as an enormous
market where Internet usage is growing at a rate greater than most other places
in the world.
Mahjong is recognized as a national
sport in China, and the public appetite for online games is strong and
expanding.
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Through its contract link with
Beijing Junnet Science & Technology Company Ltd., Dynasty will have access
to the largest distribution network in the country for prepaid cards.
A contract with Sohu.com will
provide an exclusive portal for reaching millions of people, and links with
both the Betex Group and
Sino Strategic International (SSI)will provide
windows to high volume lottery retail sites.
An agreement with Las Vegas From
Home.com Entertainment Inc. ("LVFH") will enable Dynasty to provide its own
Mahjong game, together with LVFH's full suite of very popular Asian-style
specialty games, to its marketing channel partners.
Multi-site online play of Mahjong in
China is expected to begin by end-March 2007.
Full information on Dynasty Gaming
can be found at www.dynastygaming.com
SOURCE: Dynasty Gaming Inc.
ALC Introduces New Manager of Social Responsibility and Responsible
Gambling
MONCTON, N.B., Canada (February 21,
2007) -- The Atlantic Lottery Corporation
(ALC) is pleased to announce that Kim Wilson has joined the corporation as
the new Manager of Social Responsibility and Responsible Gambling.
Kim will work with other senior
leaders, employees and partners throughout the region to develop and execute
ALC’s social responsibility strategy, which includes ALC’s
responsible gambling strategy. ALC continues to be committed to providing
gaming products and information in a manner that encourages recreational play
and empowers players to make informed choices about their play.
“At ALC, we are committed to
integrating responsible gambling practices into everything we do. We believe
that we have a responsibility to raise awareness and educate our players, to
help them make informed choices. We are pleased to have Kim join our team and
continue to enhance that aspect of our commitment to Atlantic
Canadians,” said Mike Randall, Vice President, Social Responsibility
and Communications.
“I look forward to working
with ALC employees, government officials, problem gamblers, community groups
and health and addictions services staff across Atlantic Canada to continue the
implementation of our responsible gambling initiatives,” said Wilson.
“These partnerships are important for ALC as we continue to investigate
opportunities to work together and fund awareness programs across the Atlantic
region.”
A long-time resident of Greater
Moncton, Kim is involved on the Greater Moncton International Airport Board of
Directors, YWCA Board of Directors, YMCA Century Club, PGI Golf Tournament for
Literacy NB and is an active fundraiser for the MS Society.
ALC is committed to offering fun,
entertaining products and games in a regulated environment. To learn more about
ALC’s responsible gambling strategy, go online to
www.alc.ca.
CONTACT: Robert Bourgeois, Atlantic
Lottery Corporation, 1-800-561-3942
SOURCE: Atlantic Lottery
Corporation.
Governor Launches “The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race”
Ticket
TOPEKA, KANSAS, USA (February 22,
2007) – The Kansas Lottery has
developed a $2 instant ticket dedicated to The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race
Endurance Ride, the bulk of which will take place later this year in Kansas.
The ticket, fittingly named The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race, was officially
launched February 22 by Governor Sebelius on the east steps of the State
Capitol.
“This ticket draws attention
to a very exciting and unique event, one that embraces the heritage of the
Santa Fe Trail and what it means to Kansas history,” Governor Sebelius
said.
The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race
is an 800-mile endurance ride completed over 13 days. It is open to all breeds,
and is sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference. The events will
start in Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 1 and end in Missouri on September
15. The race begins September 3.
The race will include Race Villages
where teams will be able to stop overnight. They will cover 30 acres and
include first aid, refreshments, entertainment and more. Race Villages are
planned for seven Kansas locations: Elkhart, Dodge City, Larned, Lyons, Council
Grove, Burlingame and Gardner. More than 100,000 spectators are expected
throughout the course of the event.
“We’re really pleased
to support an event that will bring thousands of visitors to Kansas,”
Lottery Executive Director Ed Van
Petten said. “We hope our players will show their support, too, by
purchasing The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race tickets.”
The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race
is a $2 game, in which players can win up to $10,000 instantly. They can also
enter their non-winning tickets into an August 17 second-chance drawing, in
which ten players will win VIP concert packages for two to the Festival on the
Trails celebration in Gardner, Kansas. Then at the Festival on the Trails
event, on September 15, one of those ten winners’ names will be drawn to
win a trip for two to the 2007 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards.
The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race
is the Lottery’s newest Made in Kansas ticket, promoting Kansas business,
industry and tourism by offering Kansas-themed grand prizes in second-chance
drawings. The Lottery’s partners in The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race
ticket and promotion include The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race, as well as
106.5 The Wolf in Kansas City and Entercom Kansas City.
SOURCE: Kansas Lottery. CONTACT:
Sally Lunsford (785) 296-5708, sally.lunsford@kslottery.net.
Wincor Nixdorf Hosts Successful House Trade Fair / Lottery Solutions
Presents Self-Service Terminal
International
Interest in Wincor World Grows
CONSTANCE, Germany (February 9,
2007) -- Visitors from 88 countries flocked to Wincor World 2007, the annual
house trade fair of IT specialist Wincor Nixdorf, which ran from January 30 to
February 1st in Paderborn, Germany. Last year, visitors came from only around
60 countries, but this year’s exhibition was considerably better attended.
Over 7000 IT decision-makers from banks, retail enterprises and lottery
companies were brought up to speed on products, innovations, and trends in this
sector.
“Judging by its power to
attract visitors from around the globe, Wincor World 2007 was a roaring
success," said Andreas Bruck, Head of Corporate Communications at Wincor
Nixdorf. No fewer than 75 trade journalists from all countries covered the
event. Explaining this in-crease in the number of foreign visitors, Bruck
commented, “The exhibition is a mirror of the firm’s international
growth, which we are especially looking to achieve outside of Europe." In
particular, the numbers of visitors from Asian countries, as well as from South
and North America, increased greatly.
In time for the exhibition’s
opening on January 31, 2007, Wincor Nixdorf’s new President and CEO,
Eckard Heidloff, announced that Deutsche Post AG, Germany’s postal
services pro-vider, had placed a major order: Wincor Nixdorf will equip 20,000
counter terminals in Ger-man post offices with new IT systems. “Landing
this major order is another step in Wincor Nixdorf’s strategy of tapping
new business potential by taking core competences from its branch/store
business with banks and retail enterprises and moving them out into
neighbor-ing sectors."
When it comes to harnessing synergy
effects in related sectors, Wincor Nixdorf
Lottery Solutions – the business unit that provides solutions to the
lottery market – shows how it’s done. Among its exhibits, Lottery
Solutions showcased the new self-service terminal Xion /Xpress, featuring
tried-and tested modules from the banking sector. Using a touch screen, players
control and implement the entire course of play. User guidance is oriented to
the players’ intuitions. The design of the terminal sets new standards. A
barcode reader handles the vali-dation of instant lottery tickets. And a
motorized hybrid card reader allows the processing of cash cards and customer
cards. Add a certified PIN pad, and the safe processing of pay-ments is
assured! A banknote reader can be installed as an optional extra. An integrated
thermal printer issues lottery receipts reliably and rapidly.
By developing new solutions for
self-service terminals in the lottery sector, Wincor Nixdorf is following a
cutting-edge trend in all service sectors covered by the company. No one
strolling through the exhibition could miss the self-service message.
Self-checkout in supermarkets is just one example of where things are headed.
Markus Sauter, Head of Marketing,
drew a personal balance: "We would be very happy to see even more
international visitors at our stand in the future. Wincor World is a positive
ex-perience for all our visitors, whether from sales, marketing or R&D,
because here they can see beyond the boundaries of their own sectors and find
inspiration for their own needs."
For more information:
www.wincor-nixdorf.com
SOURCE: Wincor Nixdorf Lottery
Solutions. CONTACT: Markus Sauter (Head of Marketing), Phone +49 (0)7531
94226-31, Email: markus.sauter@wincor-nixdorf.com
California State Lottery Commission Revises Budget for 2006-07 Fiscal
Year
SACRAMENTO, California, USA
(February 28, 2007) -- The California State
Lottery Commission today voted to approve a mid-year revision of the
California State Lottery’s budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year. The budget
revision was prompted by updated sales projections that show an expected $400
million decrease in sales compared to the projected budget for the fiscal
year.
The revised budget predicts sales of
$3.2 billion for the 2006-07 fiscal year with public education projected to
receive $1.13 billion in supplemental funding as a result. This represents a
reduction of $136 million in education funding compared to last year and would
be the third highest contribution to education in the Lottery’s 22-year
history.
Last year, the California Lottery
contributed a record $1.28 billion to public education in 2005-06 out of
historic sales of $3.58 billion. The budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year
projected a modest increase in sales for a total of $3.6 billion. The budget
projections were largely based on sales for the lotto games MEGA Millions and
SuperLOTTO Plus® increasing by $65 million. Instead, sales for these games
are projected to fall short of budgeted goals by $285 million. MEGA Millions
sales are now projected at $355 million, or 37% below budget. SuperLOTTO Plus
sales are now estimated at $605 million, or 12% below budget.
The shortfall in sales for MEGA
Millions and SuperLOTTO Plus is attributable to an unusual absence of large
jackpots for the first six months of the fiscal year. Lotto game sales are
jackpot driven; meaning higher jackpots lead to higher sales. Jackpot levels
are out of the Lottery’s control and have been significantly below average
this year. In 2005-06 there were MEGA Millions jackpots of $170 million, $258
million and $315 million over the first six months. This year there has been
only one MEGA Millions jackpot over $150 million ($163 million) over the same
period of time. SuperLOTTO Plus has experienced a similar drought of large
jackpots and sales have suffered as a result.
All MEGA Millions member states are
experiencing dramatic declines in MEGA Millions sales because of lower jackpot
levels. Because of statutory restrictions the California Lottery uses the
proceeds from sales of its draw games like MEGA Millions and SuperLOTTO Plus,
and additional administrative savings, to fund prize levels for its
Scratchers® products.
The decline in draw games sales will
force the Lottery to curtail the sale of Scratchers tickets because it cannot
afford to fund Scratchers prize funds at desired levels. As a result, the
Lottery projects a decline of six percent in Scratchers sales below the
original target of $1.88 billion for a revised total of $1.76 billion in sales.
The decline in Scratchers sales is
unfortunate because while other MEGA Millions states have seen similar sales
declines, an average of 30%, they have the ability to mitigate their deficits
through higher Scratchers sales.
Public education will continue to
receive 34% of sales as mandated by the Lottery Act. Unfortunately, after a
record contribution of $1.28 billion in supplemental funding last year, the
revised budget now projects that the Lottery will contribute $1.13 billion
(35.4% of sales) over 2006-07. This reduction of $136 million in supplemental
funding for education since last year still represents the Lottery’s third
highest contribution to public education in its history.
In response to this budget
shortfall, the Lottery is taking steps to introduce new and exciting products,
developing additional games for the future and conducting research to assist in
determining new ways to boost sales. The Lottery has also reduced
administrative expenses by eliminating $3 million in funding for over a dozen
projects planned for this fiscal year and reduced its administrative spending
reserve from $8 million to $1 million. It should also be noted that since 1996,
the Lottery has voluntarily reduced administrative expenses from 15.5% to 12.6%
of total sales. The 12.6% for administrative expenses includes over 7%
dedicated to retailer compensation.
Click
Here to view a chart comparing of the original budget for 2006-07 to the
adjusted budget.
SOURCE: The California State Lottery
Commission.
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