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Lotterywest Wins ‘Advertiser of the Year’
Award
OSBORNE PARK, Western Australia
(March 26, 2007) -- Lotterywest has been named
‘Advertiser of the Year’, at the 2007 Campaign Brief Awards
held last weekend at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Campaign Brief is Western
Australia’s premier advertising and media publication and its annual
Awards is the most important event for WA’s advertising industry.
Two of Lotterywest’s successful
product campaigns that received accolades were ‘Scrabble X’
for Scratch’n’Win, Lotterywest’s instant ticket games, and
‘Lotto Wallet’ for the organisation’s flagship game,
Lotto.
The ‘Scrabble X’
campaign, awarded by Campaign Brief with ‘Best of Year for Television
Single and Television Campaign’, was described as a stand-out ad by
one of the Award’s international judges.
The ‘Lotto Wallet’
campaign has also received acclaim over the past 12 months, including two
national Caxton Awards, the prestigious ‘People’s Choice’
Award, and a Gold award at the recent PADC Awards.
Lotterywest’s very successful
corporate campaign ‘Everyday People Win’, launched in 2006,
and developed specifically to communicate the link between Lotterywest’s
games and its substantial contribution to the community of Western Australia,
has also contributed to winning the Advertiser of the Year Award.
Lotterywest was recognised as
“a unique advertiser in that while the core products remain the same,
the advertising campaigns require constant refreshing as they are promoted 52
weeks a year”.
Campaign Brief has acknowledged
Lotterywest as “one of the most important advertising accounts to
Western Australia because of its willingness to back creative ideas with good
production budgets”.
Lotterywest has enjoyed a 30-year
long partnership with its advertising agency, Marketforce, which was also
awarded ‘Agency of the Year’ at the Awards.
CONTACT: Angelika Fawcett, 9340 5227
/ 0438 996 884.
SOURCE: Lotteries Commission of
Western Australia trading as Lotterywest® media release.
INTRALOT: Significant Increase of Revenues to € 791.4 m
(Increase of 51.3%) and EBT to €235.1m (Increase of 56,2%) in
2006
ATHENS, Greece (March 27, 2007) --
INTRALOT SA, the second biggest
international gaming company, today announces its financial results for the
twelve-month period ending December 31st, 2006, prepared in accordance with
IFRS. INTRALOT achieved a high growth rate both in its revenues and profits, as
follows:
Consolidated Revenues for the period
reached €791.4 m, posting a 51.3% increase compared to 2005 (€ 523
m). Earnings Before Taxes (EBT) excluding stock option costs, recorded an
increase of 56.2% y-o-y by reaching €235.1 m compared to €150.5 m in
2005 while including stock option costs increased to € 223.6 m., 48.6%
higher in comparison with 2005. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax,
Depreciation and Amortization) excluding stock option costs increased by 59.2%
to €254.8 m, compared to € 160 m the same period last year, while
including stock option costs increased to € 243.3 m compared to € 160
m the same period in 2005.
Total International Revenues for the
Intralot Group amounted to €595.4m, or 75.2% of total Group sales,
compared with €390.9m in 2005, posting a y-o-y increase of 52.3%.
International operations contributed a total of €155.6m or 69.5% to group
EBT vs. €90.7m in 2005, posting a y-o-y increase of 71.6%.
Revenues for the parent company
increased to €231.1m in 2006, 86.8% higher year-on-year (2005:
€123.7m), where Earnings Before Taxes (EBT) excluding stock option costs
reached €109.2 m in 2006, posting a 45.2% y-o-y increase (2005: €
75.2 m) while including stock option costs reached € 97.7 m, posting a
29,9% y-o-y increase.
Commenting on 12-month 2006
results INTRALOT’s CEO, Constantinos Antonopoulos, noted:
“INTRALOT achieved in 2006 strong growth rates, for one more year,
posting very strong growth rates in both the top-line and net line compared to
2005. This establishes INTRALOT as the second largest company in the global
sector in terms of both revenues and profits. The Company continued its
international expansion by enriching its project portfolio with new significant
contracts in 2006 such as Taiwan, South Africa, Philippines, and Australia.
Moreover, the Company obtained a significant number of licenses in the recently
opened Italian fixed-odds betting market. "
As a result of the last year’s
successful performance, the Company will distribute a total dividend of
€0.66 per share, increased by 20% compared to that of 2005.
Concerning the outlook of the
Company, major developments are in progress in the international gaming sector
such as lottery privatization projects especially in the US and in other
countries. Moreover, the liberalization of gaming markets started in Italy
recently and is expected to continue in Spain and in other countries as
well.
The opportunities in the sector, the
new contracts and the growth potential from the Company’s established
operations will further enhance INTRALOT’s leading global position and
increase its shareholders value.”
About INTRALOT (www.intralot.com)
INTRALOT, a public
company listed on the ASE, is the 2nd biggest supplier of integrated gaming and
transaction processing systems, innovative game content and value added
services to state-licensed gaming organizations worldwide. It’s broad
portfolio of products & services, its know-how of Lottery, Betting &
Video Lottery operations, its experience in sports games and its leading-edge
technology, give INTRALOT a competitive advantage, which contributes directly
to customers’ efficiency, profitability and growth. With 40 subsidiaries,
7 business offices, more than 3,600 people and revenues of €791,4 m. for
2006, INTRALOT’s footprint straddles five continents.
For more information please
CONTACT: Ms Evi Ioannidou, Communications Director, Phone: +30-210 6156000,
Fax: +30-210 6106800, email: ioannidou@intralot.com
California Lottery Launches New Major League Baseball® Scratchers
SACRAMENTO, California (March 28,
2007) -- Not everyone has the talent to make it to the big leagues, but with
the launch of the California
Lottery’s Major League Baseball Scratchers®, just about anyone can
have the chance to throw out the first pitch at an MLB® game, hit the road
to see your favorite team play, have dinner with a former big leaguer, or catch
a game from a luxury suite with 20 of your closest friends.
“Now Californians can not
only cheer for their favorite Major League Baseball team, but by purchasing one
of the California Lottery’s new Major League Baseball Scratchers
they’ll have the chance at prizes that baseball fans will truly
love,” said Joan Borucki,
California Lottery Director. “By purchasing MLB Scratchers tickets
representing their favorite California team, fans will have a chance to win
once in a lifetime sports experiences; experiences they’ve only dreamed
about can now become a reality.”
Every Major League Baseball team in
California now has its very own Scratchers. Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim and San Diego Padres Scratchers are available for sale at
Lottery retailers in Southern California. San Francisco Giants and Oakland
Athletics Scratchers are available for sale across Northern California.
In addition to the chance of winning
up to $10,000 in cash prizes instantly, this new addition to the California
Lottery’s line of $2 Scratchers offers second-chance drawings for once in
a lifetime “Ultimate Prizes.”
Ten second-chance draw winners will
get the chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of thousands of
fans before a Major League Baseball game. Winners will be escorted down to the
field to throw out the first pitch and then will be able to watch the game from
VIP stadium seating with a guest. The winner will receive a photograph or video
of themselves throwing out the first pitch, a $500 gift certificate to the team
store and special team souvenirs.
Five lucky Lottery players will each
win a VIP experience for four where a limo will whisk them away to enjoy dinner
with a retired MLB player before a game. After dinner, the group will be
escorted down to the field to watch batting practice and then to VIP seating
for the game. Winners will receive a scoreboard welcome, food and beverages,
and special gifts that include an autographed ball for each guest and a $500
gift certificate to the team store.
Five other Ultimate Prize winners
will hit the road with their favorite California team. During the 2007 regular
season schedule, the winner and their guest will be flown to a Divisional Away
Series game of their choice, where they will receive VIP tickets to two games
and stay two nights at the team hotel. They will all receive special team
souvenirs as well as $1,000 for their meals and other expenses.
Finally, ten other MLB Scratchers
second-chance draw participants will each win a night in a 20 seat luxury suite
at a California ballpark. They will be welcomed on the scoreboard at the game
and a team personality will make a special appearance in their suite. Food and
beverages will be provided to keep them going through the game and all 20
people will receive a bundle of team themed gifts.
But these amazing Major League
Baseball experiences aren’t the only things you can win; more than 3,500
other second-chance draw contestants will win Major League Baseball merchandise
prize packs. Winners will receive a prize pack themed to their choice of any of
the thirty MLB teams. Prize packs include an Authentic Collection® home
jersey, a team plaque, an MLB team windshirt, replica cap, stadium seat or team
flag.
Instant prize winners and
second-chance draw contestants are not the only ones who will benefit from the
new Major League Baseball Scratchers. Public education receives at least 34
cents of every dollar players spend on Lottery products. The California Lottery
contributed $1.28 billion to public education in 2005-06 out of sales of $3.58
billion, the sixth year in a row the Lottery has provided more than $1 billion
in supplemental funding for education. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery
has contributed more than $18 billion to California schools.
SOURCE: California Lottery
Education Lottery Raises Green Flag on New Nascar® Themed
Ticket
NASCAR® Driver Kasey Kahne ™ To Meet
Players
CONCORD, North Carolina, USA (March
23, 2007) -- The North Carolina Education
Lottery (NCEL) is getting revved up about its one year anniversary and the
launch of its officially licensed NASCAR® instant scratch-off ticket.
The ticket will feature NASCAR®
drivers Jimmie Johnson®, Jeff Gordon®, Dale Earnhardt Jr.® and
Kasey Kahne™.
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To help the NCEL commemorate its
anniversary and the ticket release, Kasey Kahne™ will help unveil the
ticket that features him and he will sign autographs at Concord Mills. The
general public (ages 18 and above) will also have a chance to win tickets to a
NASCAR® sanctioned race and other NCEL prizes by putting the pedal to the
metal in the “Big Wheel 600,” an adult size big wheel
race!
The $5 NASCAR® instant
scratch-off ticket will have five top prizes of $100,000. It will also offer
players a chance to win a trip to a NASCAR® sanctioned race or one of over
a thousand NASCAR® licensed merchandise prize packages! The NCEL will hold
three separate second chance drawings. Players can enter non-winning tickets
for each second chance drawing.
Players can only win once per
drawing, but may enter as many non-winning tickets as they want. For more
detailed information and rules, check out the How to Play brochure that will be
posted on the NCEL Web site www.nc-educationlottery.org starting March 27.
SOURCE: N. C. Education Lottery.
CONTACT: Pamela Walker, Phone: (919) 301-3308.
Gaming Laboratories International Adds Two Experienced Technology
Professionals To Its Development Team
Susan Lockett, Robert
Pagliaroli to Work in Tribal Gaming Development
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, USA (March 23,
2007) – Gaming Laboratories International has added two highly experienced
technical professionals to its Development Team.
 |
| Susan
Lockett |
Joining GLI as Business Development
Representative is Susan Lockett. Lockett comes to GLI from technology company
Agilysys, where she worked for nearly 10 years. At GLI, Lockett will be
responsible for Tribal gaming commissions in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota
and Wisconsin, overseeing all of the commissions’ testing needs. Lockett
has been involved with Tribal gaming as an Associate Member of the National
Indian Gaming Association for more than five years. Next month, she will begin
her second year as a member of NIGA’s advisory committee.
 |
| Robert
Pagliaroli |
GLI team member Robert Pagliaroli
has been promoted to Business Development Representative. Previously,
Pagliaroli served in GLI’s Quality Control division, and he will bring his
back-of-house experience and in-depth technical knowledge to his new client
base in GLI’s Arizona and California territories. Pagliaroli has been in
the gaming industry since 1991, and has operator experience on both the table
games and slots side of the gaming floor. Additionally, he has technical
experience with Acres and IGT, where he worked in field service.
The addition of Lockett and
Pagliaroli bring GLI’s worldwide development team to 14. Worldwide GLI
employs more than 400 professionals in nine labs on five continents.
GLI Director of Development Bill
Treger said, “We are very excited to have Susan and Rob as part of the
development team. Each of them brings an in-depth technology background, which
will be a tremendous asset to their regulatory clients, particularly in this
era of such incredible and rapid technological advancements.”
About Gaming Laboratories
International
Gaming Laboratories International currently operates
wholly owned and fully staffed gaming test laboratories in Lakewood, NJ;
Golden, CO; Las Vegas, NV; GLI Europe, B.V. in Hillegom, The Netherlands; GLI
Africa in Pretoria, South Africa; GLI Italia, in Bologna, Italy and GLI Asia,
Macau, China. Gaming Laboratories Australia operates fully accredited test
laboratories in Sydney and Adelaide under license to GLI. GLI is the only
laboratory, public or private, that maintains ISO 17025 Accreditation at all of
its testing laboratory locations.
CONTACT: Christie Eickelman,
Director of Worldwide Marketing, +1 (702) 914-2220 or
c.eickelman@gaminglabs.com
Gaming Laboratories International,
GLI Europe B.V., GLI Africa, GLI, and Gaming Laboratories Australia and
associated globe logos are trademarks of Gaming Laboratories International,
Inc.
SOURCE: Gaming Laboratories
International media release distributed by Steinbeck Communications.
CONTACT: Paul Speirs, P: 702-413-4278, F: 702-233-3492, E:
paulspeirs@cox.net
Minnesota State Lottery Extends its Contract with
OGT
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, USA (March 22,
2007) -- Oberthur Gaming Technologies
(“OGT”) is pleased to announce a two-year contract extension with
the Minnesota State Lottery. Through this
primary vendor contract, originally awarded in February 2005, OGT provides the
Lottery with scratch game tickets and related services.
“We have been very
pleased to have OGT as a strategic partner and appreciate the very high quality
products and entertaining games they have provided,” declared
Clint Harris, Director of the Minnesota
State Lottery. “Our team is very excited about continuing our
relationship with OGT and look forward to the future in partnership with their
sales and marketing team.”
“We have been partnering
with the Minnesota State Lottery since 1997, and we are honoured and extremely
proud to have been awarded this contract extension,” added Jim Nulph,
Vice-President US Sales and Marketing of OGT. “We thank Mr. Harris for his
confidence with OGT, and we are committed to working with the Lottery to
continue to grow their business and maximize their profits.”
About Oberthur Gaming
Technologies (www.oberthurgt.com)
With more than 35
years of lottery-specific expertise and over a century's experience in the
security printing industry, Oberthur Gaming Technologies is the world’s
leader in the printing of innovative instant lottery tickets. Comprehensive
services include strategic game planning and innovative conceptual design with
OGT’s Dream Team®, Cyber Games™ (interactive) as well as
state-of-the-art Global Operations and Lottery Distribution System (GOLDS). OGT
currently supplies a full range of high quality products and services to 100
clients in some 50 countries. The company has production units or sales offices
in Montreal, Canada; San Antonio, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in the U.S.; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; and Sydney,
Australia.
SOURCE: Lyse Trudel, Communications
Officer, Oberthur Gaming Technologies, (+1-514) 254-3600, ext. 101, Email:
lyse.trudel@mtl.oberthurgt.com
For information CONTACT: Art Kiuttu,
Senior Account Executive, Oberthur Gaming Technologies, (+1-210) 509-9999, ext.
176, Oberthur Gaming Technologies.
Tipp24 Once Again Posts Record Earnings
HAMBURG, Germany (March 26, 2007) --
The Tipp24 Group added a new chapter to its
success story in 2006. There was a strong increase of 448 thousand in the
number of registered customers to 1,770 (prior year: 1,322) thousand, due
largely to a favorable jackpot situation in the second half of the year.
Billings – consisting mainly of brokered lottery tickets – grew to
€ 264.2 (204.7) million, an increase of 29.1 percent.
With growth of 32.6 percent to
€ 34.6 (26.1) million, Tipp24’s revenue was within the forecast
range. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved by 20.0 percent to
€ 7.2 (6.0) million. The EBIT margin amounted to 21.0 (23.2) percent. The
slight year-on-year decline of 2.2 percentage points resulted from three
special items: first and foremost, above-average marketing expenses during the
record jackpot period, as well as the omission of the “ExtraLotto”
New Year’s Eve lottery and additional costs for lobbying activities.
Consolidated net profit was well
above expectations, increasing by 124.2 percent to € 7.4 (3.3)
million.
Tipp24 continued to expand the
dominant position it enjoys in its core German market. The company previously
held a market share of 40 to 50 percent, ahead of the online services of state
lottery companies and other private suppliers. Toward the end of fiscal 2006,
however, Tipp24’s market share grew to over 60 percent as Germany’s
state lottery companies – with the exception of Lower Saxony and North
Rhine-Westphalia – temporarily discontinued their online activities in
connection with regulatory discussions.
The proportion of revenue generated
outside Germany grew by 4.2 percentage points to 12.7 (8.5) percent. With a
contribution to earnings of € -83 (-952) thousand, the Group’s
foreign subsidiaries almost reached break-even in the period under review. The
fact that the Group’s Spanish subsidiary is now operating profitably
proves that Tipp24’s model can be successfully transferred to other
national markets.
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Dr. Hans Cornehl, CFO of Tipp24 AG:
“Our company continued to display stable and sustainable growth in 2006
despite adverse market conditions caused by ongoing political and legal
discussions about Germany’s gaming market.”
Easing of legislative
pressure – promising market changes
On March 22, 2007, the EU
Commission censured the current Draft State Gaming Treaty in Germany, and in
particular its prohibition of online gaming brokerage. Tipp24 now believes that
significant amendments will have to be made to the German draft treaty.
With the announcement of the
Placanica verdict by the European Court of Justice on March 6, 2007, the EU has
sent a strong signal in favor of deregulating the European gaming market. Jens
Schumann, CEO and founder of Tipp24 AG: “Despite all the short-term risks
currently being discussed, we expect deregulation in Europe to add additional
impetus to our European growth.”
The Executive Board believes that
Tipp24 is well positioned to actively exploit this potential. This is
underlined by the share buy-back program launched in February 2007, which is
primarily intended to provide shares for use as an acquisition currency.
Positive
outlook
With annual growth forecasts of 27 percent world-wide, the
online lottery market offers tremendous sustained growth potential. The company
plans to stabilize its market share in this dynamic environment and expects
billings and revenues to continue to grow at around 30% – assuming its
activities in Germany remain legally permissible. In addition to growth in
Tipp24’s core market of Germany, further products are also to be added to
the company’s portfolio.
Tipp24 expects to gain 300,000 to
400,000 new registered customers in 2007. Due to the scalability of its
business model, the Executive Board of Tipp24 AG expects a correspondingly
strong increase in EBIT.
About Tipp24 AG (www.tipp24-ag.de)
Tipp24 was established
in 1999 and is now the market leader for lottery products in the Internet on
the basis of billings. The company has succeeded in achieving impressive growth
rates right from the start. Almost all state lottery products are supplied. It
only takes a few mouse clicks to buy a lottery ticket – round the clock,
quickly and anonymously. The ticket receipt is kept safely, winners are
notified about their prizes automatically by text message and e-mail and prizes
are credited automatically. Subsidiaries of Tipp24 (www.tipp24.de) are
Ventura24 in Spain (www.ventura24.es) and Puntogioco24 (www.puntogioco24.it) in
Italy.
SOURCE: Tipp24 AG. CONTACT: Andrea
Fratini, Phone: +49 (040) 32 55 33 – 660, Fax: +49 (040) 32 55 33 –
77, Email: presse@tipp24.de
| Key figures
for Q.IV 2006 |
| Q.IV |
|
2006 |
2005 |
Change |
| Billings |
€ million |
77,9 |
55,6 |
+ 40,1% |
| - Germany |
€ million |
72,0 |
52,5 |
+ 37,1% |
| - Abroad |
€ million |
5,9 |
3,1 |
+ 90,3% |
| Revenue |
€ million |
10,2 |
7,4 |
+ 37,8% |
| - Germany |
€ million |
8,9 |
6,6 |
+ 34,8% |
| - Abroad |
€ million |
1,4 |
0,7 |
+ 100,0% |
| Operating expenses |
€ million |
7,9 |
5,4 |
+ 46,3% |
| EBITDA |
€ million |
2,3 |
2,0 |
+ 15,0% |
| EBIT |
€ million |
2,1 |
1,8 |
+ 16,7% |
| EBT |
€ million |
2,6 |
2,1 |
+ 23,8% |
| Net profit |
€ million |
1,7 |
1,0 |
+ 70,0% |
| Key figures
for FY2006 |
| Fiscal year Q.I-IV |
|
2006 |
2005 |
Change |
| Billings |
€ million |
264,2 |
204,7 |
+ 29,1% |
| - Germany |
€ million |
246,9 |
196,0 |
+ 26,0% |
| - Abroad |
€ million |
17,3 |
8,7 |
+ 98,9% |
| Revenue |
€ million |
34,6 |
26,1 |
+ 32,6% |
| - Germany |
€ million |
30,2 |
23,9 |
+ 26,4% |
| - Abroad |
€ million |
4,4 |
2,2 |
+ 100,0% |
| Operating expenses |
€ million |
26,6 |
19,4 |
+ 37,1% |
| EBITDA |
€ million |
8,0 |
6,7 |
+ 19,4% |
| EBIT |
€ million |
7,2 |
6,0 |
+ 20,0% |
| EBT |
€ million |
8,4 |
6,5 |
+ 29,2% |
| Net profit |
€ million |
7,4 |
3,3 |
+ 124,2% |
| Registered customers at year-end |
in thousands. |
1.77 |
1.322 |
+ 33,9% |
(Rounding differences due to disclosure in €
million)
100 Nest Eggs For Easter, With Love From
Lotto
NEW ZEALAND (March 25, 2007) - The
Easter Bunny has tough competition this Easter, with this year’s
celebrations set to be huge for 100 Lotto Triple Dip players who will win a
share of $1.85 million in cash prizes.
Lotto’s ‘100 Nest Eggs for
Easter’ promotion kicks of Sunday 25 March, with 100 extra cash prizes to
be won on Lotto’s Easter weekend draw.
All players who purchase a Lotto
Triple Dip between Sunday 25 March and 7pm, Saturday 7 April 2007* are in with
a chance to win one of 100 extra cash prizes, ranging from a top prize of
$500,000 through to 90 prizes of $10,000.
“The Easter Bunny
would have a tough time delivering these huge nest eggs, but Lotto has all
bases covered, and we can’t wait to surprise our 100 winners with their
giant cash nest eggs this Easter,” says Mr McLeay.
Every Triple Dip purchased during
the promotion period gives players the chance to win one of the following 100
cash prizes:
• 1 x $500,000
• 2 x $100,000
• 3
x $50,000
• 4 x $25,000
• 90 x $10,000
“Winning one of these
extra cash prizes is definitely going to make a nice little nest egg for our
100 Easter weekend winners to hold on to.
“And even if our winners
choose not to put their prize money away for a rainy day, there’s always
plenty of fun to be had with a bit of extra cash,” says Mr McLeay.
Official results will be available
after 9pm on 7th April at www.nzlotteries.co.nz
SOURCE: NZ Lotteries.
Smith Micro Announces Its New 'Paperless' Mobile Sweepstakes
Generator
Smith Micro's Patented Active Image® Technology
Creates Next Generation Sweepstake Promotions to Increase SMS Usage on Mobile
Devices
ORLANDO, Florida, USA (March 26,
2007) -- CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2007 -- Smith Micro Software,
Inc. (Nasdaq: SMSI), a leading provider of a wide range of software and
services for the wireless market, today announced it's new Mobile Sweepstakes
Generator, an intuitive 'digital scratch card' technology that
transforms a one-way marketing program into a dynamic interactive experience
via MMS.
Smith Micro's Mobile Sweepstakes
Generator can power advertising promotions in a secure, imaginative and
cost-effective manner by allowing the consumer to engage with the company
sponsoring the sweepstakes via their mobile phone.
This "paperless sweepstakes"
technology not only drives increased SMS cell phone usage for carriers, but
also serves as a complimentary channel to more traditional media including
print, broadcast, mail and online.
The Mobile Sweepstakes "scratch
and reveal" interface powered by the Smith Micro's Active Images technology
will enable companies to design and deliver exciting new marketing campaigns to
reach a new generation of mobile consumers.
The value for the consumer is
interactive entertainment and of course a chance to win; the value for the
company hosting the mobile promotion is to continue to build brand awareness
through maintained dialogue with the consumer.
With more than half of the world
population carrying mobile phones, leading marketing agencies and the brands
they represent can benefit from this innovative technology to build a stronger
customer relationship and reach a wider audience effectively and
efficiently.
"Mobile promotions require
consumers to become more attentive to the promotion and allow companies to
integrate their brand messaging as a part of the promotion," said William
W. Smith, Jr., President and CEO of Smith Micro Software. "Where consumers
used to skip through commercials on prerecorded programs (e.g., TiVo), for
example, or run to the kitchen during TV commercial, they now focus on the
brand's promotion and watch for keywords or information that will help ensure
their success in the promotional campaign. Mobile Sweepstakes presents a new
opportunity for brands to engage interactive entertainment, and hopefully
reward their customers for playing along."
Content and related data services
are a significant and growing component of carrier revenues. Carriers can
utilize Smith Micro's Mobile Sweepstakes Generator to establish a broader
awareness of music, gaming and other digital products throughout the subscriber
base.
In addition to an increase in SMS
messaging traffic over wireless networks, the Mobile Sweepstakes Generator
unlike lottery tickets, does not involve paper. This eliminates any negative
environmental impact and allows for a greener world.
Currently, the Mobile Sweepstakes
Generator is in test promotion phase in the Asia markets.
How Mobile Sweepstakes
Works:
The consumer purchases an item and
receives an SMS code to send from their cell phone. The Mobile Sweepstake
Generator then generates a random "digital scratch card" displaying a series of
pictures and sends it via the company's Multi-Media Server gateway back to the
consumer's cell phone. The user's goal is to match the pictures by clicking on
the image. A "digital scratch" similar to scratching a lottery ticket is
animated and the user continues to click until the prize is revealed or the
game is over.
The consumer then gets an SMS to
their mobile phone or email instructing them to call a phone number to arrange
delivery/redemption of the prize.
SOURCE: Smith Micro Software,
Inc.
La Fleur’s 2007 World Lottery Almanac Is Now
Available
BOYDS, Maryland (March 29, 2007) --
TLF Publications, Inc. is pleased to announce the publication
of the 15th annual “La Fleur’s 2007 World Lottery
Almanac” edited by Teresa E. La Fleur. It can be ordered online at
www.lafleurs.com. The cost of the book
is $495 plus shipping and handling.
The 470-page La Fleur’s 2007
World Lottery Almanac is the complete reference source on the $200 billion
worldwide lottery industry. Section I features a “Fast Facts”
compilation of data on North American lotteries, including startup history,
guide to product mix, government profits earmarking, lotto matrices, worldwide
lotto matrices, top lotto jackpots and video lottery terminal guide.
Section II features four-page
profiles on 44 U.S., five Canadian and six Australasian lotteries. Each profile
traces the lottery’s calendar 2006 versus 2005 sales by game (instant,
3-digit, 4-digit, lotto, cash lotto, keno, VLTs, niche games), its calendar
2006, 2005 and 2004 instant sales by price point ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $7, $10,
$20) and its projected fiscal 2007 versus fiscal 2006 ad budgets by media and
by game. Each profile tracks the lottery’s five-year annual sales by game
from fiscal 2002 through fiscal 2006. Each profile features the number and the
percentage of total, instant and online retailers by type of business, plus
each retailer’s fiscal 2005 total, instant and online sales.
Section III is divided into seven
chapters:
- worldwide lottery sales;
- fiscal 2006 sales, profit and
expense analysis;
- the retailer network;
- ad expenditures;
- historical analysis;
- contractor survey; and
- calendar 2006 U.S.
lotteries’ weekly sales by game.
The worldwide lottery sales chapter
tracks calendar 2006 game sales in local currency and converted to U.S.
currency for approximately 175+ lotteries worldwide, including rankings by
total and per capita sales for instant, lotto, total, keno, toto and draw
games. There is a separate section on VLT net machine income rankings. The
contractor guide features a monetary guide to U.S. lotteries’ instant
ticket and online system contracts.
In addition, there is a worldwide
guide to instant printers, online system and VLT vendors’ contracts by
lottery organization. The appendix includes a glossary of terms, lottery
address directory and supplier directory.
Click
Here to purchase
SOURCE: TLF Publications, Inc. press
release.
NZ Firm Set To Change The World Of Gaming
Machines
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (March 28,
2007) -- Engineers at the New Zealand laboratory of a Silicon Valley start-up,
have hit the jackpot with technology which will provide the digital displays
for “one-armed bandits” and other gambling machines.
The Company has signed a deal with
International Game Technology Inc. (IGT), the
world's largest maker of slot machines, to use the NZ technology, the
‘Contra Costa’ Times in California reported.
PureDepth originally developed
technology to help soldiers plot 3-D maps of war zones and licensed it to the
US military.
But the NZ work has been predicted
to profoundly change the $85 billion ($NZ120 billion) US gambling industry.
The engineers at PureDepth's lab in
New Zealand saw the cost of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) dropping and looked
for a mechanical solution.
They housed two or more LCDs in one
physical unit -- a deceptively simple idea protected with 45 patents and
roughly 70 patents pending.
Earlier visual displays developed by
optical engineers primarily for scientific research made 3-D images using
stereoscopic and lenticular methods to trick the eyes and brain into seeing
depth.
But those techniques -- fancy
versions of 3D glasses -- induced nausea and headaches and were rejected by
casino operators who stuck with mechanical reels or flat video displays with no
“depth”.
Reno-based IGT is hoping to debut
the first public “cabinets” with PureDepth video displays in November
at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
The company won't say how much
they'll cost, but they'll be more than mechanical reel machines, which cost up
to $US15,000.
Video slots with an authentic, 3D
feel are the ‘holy grail’ for manufacturers, the newspaper
reported.
SOURCE: NZPA.
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