| Betware Delivers Multiplayer Community Games to
Danish Lottery REYKJAVÍK,
Iceland (May 9, 2008) -- Betware has
developed and delivered a suite of Multiplayer Games to
Danske Spil, the Danish State Lottery. The
games have been launched on Danske Spil’s Internet website
www.danskespil.dk under the category named Zezam©. Danske Spil is
Betware’s first client that implements this suite of community games.
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“There is a lot of
excitement about this project as it brings a new dimension to games, and the
Danish Lottery has been busy completing the design, layout and
specifications,” said Jørgen Falsvig, vice president and CIO,
Danske Spil. “Betware has completed the software development and the
new games are fully integrated into the existing Betware Internet
solution.” Thus far Danske Spil implemented
four multiplayer games: Hearts, Ludo, Whist and Yatzy. “The games
are all played live, and players can decide to join a specific table to play
against persons they know, or they can opt to be placed at random
tables,” explained Rúnar Sveinsson, project manager at
Betware. The Multiplayer Games include features such
as chat (room, game or private), ratings of players, game statistics, bonuses,
jackpots and latest winners, to name just a few. “When we started to
research possibilities for developing these games, we discovered that features
such as chat, ratings and statistics would be excellent additional features as
they allow for interaction between players, thus building community support and
provide the added bonus of being entertaining as well,” said Mr.
Falsvig. Danske Spil is a leading lottery in terms of
innovation and the use of new technologies. Danske Spil offers all its
existing lottery products also through the Internet using Betware Gaming
Platform. This includes sports games, numbers games, Bingo, instant games and
horse racing games. Danske Spil’s newest addition, Multiplayer
community games were launched on 14th of April 2008. The platform’s
flexible nature and real-time gaming capabilities allow for integration of new
games into a secure environment.
About Danske Spil
(www.danskespil.dk)
Danske Spil was founded in 1948, and is mostly owned and
controlled by the Danish government. Danske Spil introduced Internet wagering
in 2003. The company currently employs 250 people and has 2.700 on-line dealers
and 1,300 scratch card dealers. It offers instant games, sports betting,
lottery games, bets on horseracing and slot machines in Denmark. Game turnover
for the Internet in 2007 was 294 million U$ and game turnover for all sales
channels in 2007 was nearly 2 billion U$. Dansk Tipstjeneste Group is among the
50 largest companies in Denmark with an annual turnover of more than DKK 2.3
billion. About Betware (www.betware.com) Betware is a software and services company that specializes
in providing technical solutions to gaming companies operating in fully
regulated jurisdictions. Betware has a wide product line, covering most
traditional lottery games, sports games, instants, horse racing, live betting,
bingo and casino games. These are offered for different channels including the
Internet, IPTV, mobile and on-line retailer systems. Betware’s flexible
application program interface (API) allows independent third party gaming
developers and operators to create their own games on top of Betware’s
core solutions. Press contact:
Wojciech Bachorski, Marketing Director, Betware, Tel: +354 5804723, Email:
wojtek@betware.com.
INTRALOT’s
Expansion in U.S. Continues Ohio Lottery selects INTRALOT, 6th contract in the
U.S. for INTRALOT ATHENS, Greece (May 13,
2008) -- INTRALOT’s subsidiary,
INTRALOT Inc, was selected by the Ohio
Lottery as the apparent successful vendor to operate the agency’s
gaming system services. The project will be launched on July 1st 2009 after a
one-year conversion contract that will begin on July 1st, 2008.
After the conversion the contract will have an initial term of two years with
up to four, two-year renewals (The Lottery’s budget is only approved every
two years by the state and therefore contracts cannot exceed two years).
The contract entails the initial provision of 8,800 new
clerk operated Point of Sales terminals (and related peripherals) and 2,000
player activated, self-service terminals. According to the agreement, the Ohio
Lottery will be able to choose among one of the following INTRALOT terminals;
the CORONIS HEE terminal, the award winning microLOT terminal and the newest
INTRALOT state-of-the-art terminal, the iris which tied for runner-up Product
of the Year award at the recent PGRI conference (The Product of the Year award
went to another INTRALOT product). The Ohio
Lottery contract is the sixth one awarded to INTRALOT in the U.S. following the
contracts in Nebraska,
Montana, Idaho, New
Mexico and South Carolina. INTRALOT has
won three new contracts in the highly competitive US market in the last year
alone.
With this award, INTRALOT
enters one of the top US markets that has a population of about 11.5 million
people. According to LaFleur’s
World Lottery Almanac, the Ohio Lottery ranks 10th in the U.S. in
2007 total sales of $2.258 billion, 6th in the U.S. in numbers sales and 8th in
the U.S. in Lotto sales. Ohio also ranks 26th in the world in total
sales. It is believed that Ohio’s turnover will increase significantly in
the next few years after the introduction of Keno. The
Ohio Lottery Commission was created in May 1973. Today, the Ohio Lottery
Commission offers customers a wide variety of instant games and on-line games
to play at about 8,500 licensed retailer locations across the state. In 2005,
the Ohio Lottery added on another task: to administer and monitor charitable
bingo licensing for the state. Since 1974, the Lottery has provided more than
$15 billion to public education. Annually, the Ohio Lottery provides about 4%
of the funding needed for public education - an effort shared by local, state
and federal governments. The Director of Ohio
Lottery, Mr. Michael A. Dolan stated:
“We’ve negotiated one of the best lottery gaming system contracts
in the country in terms of both technical quality and cost effectiveness. We
were fortunate to have all three major vendors compete for our business. The
independent, extremely competitive process has resulted in unprecedented
savings for our state, of more than $200 million over the potential life of the
contract, based on current sales levels, aiming to benefit our bottom line;
profits for education.” INTRALOT S.A. CEO,
Constantinos Antonopoulos stated:
“We are extremely pleased to have been selected as Ohio’s apparent
successful Gaming System Vendor. Our proposal was ranked number one among all
major vendors confirming our leading position in the gaming industry and in
particular in the U.S. Lottery market. We are determined to offer our
state-of-the-art products, dedicated customer service and our worldwide
experience to the benefit of the Ohio State Lottery in order to contribute to
their efforts to maximize performance”.
INTRALOT Inc. President
& CEO, Mr. Tom Little commented: “We are very
proud and excited to have been selected to be the Ohio Lottery’s next
partner. Our team is ready and able to work closely with our newest
partner to assist them in obtaining and exceeding their goals and objectives,
both in the short term and the long term. We appreciate this opportunity very
much and we look forward to working with the Lottery to implement secure and
efficient solutions that will benefit the retailers, the players, the Lottery
and all of the citizens of Ohio.” About
INTRALOT (www.intralot.com)
INTRALOT, a public listed company, is the leading supplier
of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative game
content and sports betting management, to state-licensed gaming organizations
worldwide. It’s broad portfolio of products & services, its know-how
of Lottery, Betting & Video Lottery operations and its leading-edge
technology, give INTRALOT a competitive advantage which contributes directly to
customers’ efficiency, profitability and growth. With presence in more
than 40 countries, with 4,200 people and revenues of $ 1.3 billion (€
835.5 mil.) for 2007, INTRALOT has established its presence on all 5
continents. For more information please CONTACT: Ms
Persa Kartsoli, Head of Corporate Affairs, Phone: +30-210 6156000, Fax: +30-210
6106800, email: kartsoli@intralot.com.
Aristocrat Technologies Receives Multiple
Certifications For VIRIDIAN™ Cabinet
Award-winning VIRIDIAN™ Certified for
Jurisdictions Across North America Company Filling Orders From Coast to
Coast LAS VEGAS, Nevada, USA (May 9, 2008)
– Aristocrat Technologies announced today that it has
received multiple test lab certifications for its new award-winning
VIRIDIAN™ cabinet in key markets in North America. The groundbreaking
product is now certified in most GLI jurisdictions, New Jersey, and three
Canadian provinces.
In addition to the
certifications, the VIRIDIAN cabinet completed its Colorado field trial ahead
of schedule, and is in the final stages of field trial in Nevada. VIRIDIAN was
initially placed in select approved markets in late March and has received an
extremely positive response from players and operators alike.
Aristocrat Sr. Vice President of Sales Sean Evans
said, “Our reports show that customer acceptance is very high, and
early numbers indicate improved casino performance with more than a 50 percent
increase in multiple locations. We believe that can be directly attributed to
VIRIDIAN’s unique features including its dynamic scorecard, easy-play
interface, and high impact cabinet presence.” The industry immediately embraced VIRIDIAN at its
debuts at G2E and NIGA, and Global Gaming Business magazine named it the
year’s “Best New Slot Product.” The VIRIDIAN cabinet is designed for optimal player
comfort and operator serviceability and features a slimmer footprint, high
resolution dual LCDs and unique, wrap-around belly art, creating a truly unique
product offering. VIRIDIAN embraces environmentally responsible design and
production methods, resulting in a 100 percent RoHS-compliant product and
increased energy efficiency for operators.
Driven by an
Intel™ processor, the innovative GEN7 platform features dynamic scorecards
and an enhanced Easy Play on-screen interface, including player-selectable
denominations. The new platform utilizes Smart card and flash card technology,
and, in addition to offering an enhanced player experience, GEN7 paves the way
for downloadable, server-based and wireless gaming, supporting the technology
of today while driving the technology of the future. Aristocrat Technologies Inc. is a subsidiary of
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL),
a leading global provider of gaming solutions that consistently outperform the
competition. The Company is licensed by over two hundred regulators and its
products and services are available in over ninety countries around the world.
Aristocrat offers a diverse range of products and services including electronic
gaming machines, interactive video terminal systems, electronic tables, and
casino management systems. For further information visit the company’s
website at www.aristocratgaming.com.
CONTACT: Paul Speirs, Steinbeck Communications, P
(702) 413-4278, F (702) 233-3492, Email: paulspeirs@cox.net
Lottomatica’s GTECH Subsidiary Completes
Final Stage Of Acquisition Of 100 Percent Of Atronic From Gauselmann Group
Total Enterprise Value Of Approximately €189 Million, Including
Debt ROME, Italy - PROVIDENCE,
Rhode Island (May 13, 2008) – Lottomatica S.p.A.'s wholly-owned
subsidiary, GTECH Corporation, announced
that it has acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in the Atronic group of
companies owned by privately-held Gauselmann Group for €32 million in
cash.
This completes the final
stage of a two-part transaction. As previously announced, GTECH completed the
first stage of the transaction in January 2008, when GTECH acquired a 50
percent controlling interest in Atronic for €20 million.
The overall transaction has a total value of approximately
€189 million, which includes approximately €137 million of debt.
Lottomatica is one of the world's largest commercial
lottery operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry. GTECH is
a leading gaming technology and services company, providing innovative
technology, creative content, and superior service delivery. 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 De Agostini, which belongs to a century-old
publishing, media, and financial services group. Lottomatica is publicly traded
on the Italian Stock Exchange (LTO), and in 2007, had approximately €1.7
billion in revenues and 5,900 employees in over 45 countries when combined with
GTECH. For further information: AD HOC Communication
Advisors 02/7606741, Mario Pellegatta - Matteo Cidda 335/1415585. GTECH
contact: Robert K. Vincent Public Affairs 1-401-392-7452.
South Carolina
Education Lottery (SCEL) Achieves Industry Milestone
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (May 12, 2008) – The
South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL) has
become the first Lottery verified on the Technical Standard established by the
North American Association of State and
Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) for Extensible Markup Language (XML) Retail
Accounting Reports. Verification was obtained on May 6 and will be valid until
May 6, 2010. SCEL’s verification follows the
successful completion of a pilot project which was established by The Open
Group, a project management and facilitation services company for standards
development and certification.
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"NASPL commends
Ernie Passailaigue, Executive
Director of the South Carolina Education Lottery, and his entire staff for
obtaining this very important goal,” said
Davie Gale, NASPL Executive Director.
“This recognition is extremely important in the future growth of our
industry. Once again, congratulations!" “We’re honored to be recognized as a trailblazer
in the lottery industry,” said Passailaigue. “This
verification is another example of SCEL’s commitment to
excellence.” Standardizing Retail Accounting
Reports in XML throughout the industry ensures lotteries and retailers alike
are taking advantage of technology to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The
result is more effective communication that will enhance efficiencies in all
aspects of the trade. NASPL represents 50 lottery
organizations throughout North America, Mexico and the Caribbean. NASPL
approved the creation of a standards initiative, which is dedicated to the
adoption or creation of Technical Standards, Best Practices, and Certification
Programs that will further the lottery objectives of integrity, security,
interoperability, and profitability. Since its
inception in 2002, the South Carolina Education Lottery has launched more than
260 instant games and six online games. Currently, SCEL offers 39 instant games
and five online games. SCEL produces an average of four new games each month in
a variety of themes, play styles, and price points of $1-$10. During the past
six years, the support the South Carolina Education Lottery has received from
players and retailers is responsible for the General Assembly appropriating
more than $1.74 billion for educational purposes through fiscal year 2008.
SOURCE: South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL). 
European Parliament Warns of Gambling
Liberalisation BRUSSELS, Belgium
(May 8, 2008 – Today the European Parliament’s plenary has adopted a
resolution on the European Commission’s July 2007 strategy paper
(“White Paper”) on Sport, in which it voices its concern at a
possible deregulation of national gambling markets.
The European Parliament
stresses that the revenues generated by state-owned or statelicensed lotteries
are “the most important source of income” and
“indispensable” for sports organisations in the EU. The EP
warns that no sustainable and politically feasible alternative to this funding
in the event of a liberalisation has so far been either proposed or seriously
discussed, and calls on the European Commission to carry out a study of the
effects that a deregulation of gambling and betting would have on society and
sport. The EP observes that “sports betting
activities have developed in an uncontrolled manner
(particularly cross-border betting on the
Internet)” and points to a growing number of matchfixing cases. The
resolution calls for measures to protect the integrity of sporting events.
Dr. Winfried
Wortmann, President of European Lotteries,
welcomed today’s parliamentary resolution: “In addition to the
general interest objectives of consumer protection and the prevention of fraud,
the financing of sport, especially amateur and grassroots sport, through
national lotteries and the protection of the integrity of sporting events are
important political arguments against a deregulation of gambling,” he
said. Dr. Wortmann added: “The European
Parliament and the Council, the two EU legislative
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bodies, have
consistently rejected a liberalisation of the very sensitive area of gambling.
We have witnessed today another clear manifestation of this political
will.” Between 2000 and 2007 the EU
legislator explicitly excluded gambling and betting from the scope of the key
internal market directives on E-Commerce, Services in the Internal Market and
Audiovisual Media Services. Key gambling-related
passages of today’s European Parliament resolution:
Recital Y/Plenary amendment 27
whereas sports organisations have many sources of income,
such as club fees and ticket sales, advertising and sponsorship, lotteries,
media rights, re-distribution of income within the sports federations and
leagues, merchandising, public support, with revenues generated by state owned
or state-licensed lotteries and gambling operators being by far the most
important source of income in many Member States. Recital AA. whereas
sports organisations in the European Union consider as indispensable the
contribution made to the financing of non-professional sport by state-run
lotteries and licensed gambling bodies operating in the general interest;
whereas no other sustainable and politically feasible solution has so far been
either proposed or seriously discussed to make up for the substantial losses
from these sources of financing to be expected if profit-making enterprises
were authorised to operate in Member States which have thus far applied
restrictive gambling policies. Recital
AB. whereas sports betting activities have
developed in an uncontrolled manner (particularly crossborder
betting on the Internet), whereas a growing number of
matches have been fixed and whereas betting-related
scandals have recently come to light in EU Member States,
threatening the integrity of sport and sporting
competitions.
Paragraph
79 Calls on the Commission to help maintain,
with a view to ensuring continued sources of financing for non-professional
sport, the current system of public financing of nonprofessional sport through
contributions from state-run lotteries and licensed gambling bodies operating
in the general interest; Paragraph 81/Plenary
amendment 13 Voices its concern at a possible
deregulation of the market in gambling and lotteries; considers it appropriate
to use the profits derived from such lotteries for purposes that are in the
public interest, including the continuing financing for professional and
amateur sports; calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt
regulatory measures which ensure that sport is protected from any improper
influence relating to betting, which guarantee the sporting events’
integrity and ensure the respect of the competitions’ organisers
intellectual property rights; calls on the Commission to carry out a study of
the potential effects on society and sport of full deregulation of the market
in gambling and lotteries, and of what types of control mechanisms could be
used to protect consumers; The amendments adopted
today can be found at:
1)
Text
of the draft resolution.
2)
Adopted
plenary amendments 13 and 27. About European
Lotteries (EL) European Lotteries (EL) is the European umbrella
organisation of state lotteries and sports betting
operators as well as other state-licensed organisations which operate
games of chance for the public benefit. EL represents 74
organisations in 43 European countries. For further
information please Contact: Rupert Hornig, General Delegate, EL, T:
+32.234.38.20, M: + 32.485.077.234. SOURCE:
European State Lotteries And Toto Association
Press Release. Pollard Amalco
Inc. Announces Acquisition of Units of Pollard Banknote Income Fund
WINNIPEG, Canada (May 15, 2008)
-- Pollard Amalco Inc. (“Pollard Amalco”) announced today that it has
acquired 4,800 units of Pollard Banknote Income Fund (the “Fund”).
Pollard Amalco’s total holdings of Fund units are now 4,800 units,
representing less than 0.1% of the outstanding units of the Fund. The Fund
units were purchased through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange at a
price of $7.85 per unit, being the market price at the time of
acquisition. Pollard Amalco also owns limited partnership units in
Pollard Holdings Limited Partnership which are exchangeable at any time for
Fund units representing approximately 73.30% of the units of the Fund
(calculated on a fully exchanged basis). Through this purchase of Fund units
together with its pre-existing holding of voting rights in the Fund, Pollard
Amalco now holds approximately 73.32% of the total voting rights in the
Fund.
On May 7, 2008, Pollard
Amalco announced its intention to make from time to time normal course
purchases of Fund units in accordance with the normal course purchase exemption
to the takeover bid rules under applicable securities laws. Such purchases will
be made at the market price of the Fund units at the time of the
acquisition. Pollard Amalco is controlled indirectly
by Gordon Pollard, John Pollard and Douglas Pollard, each of whom is a senior
executive of Pollard Banknote Limited, the entity which, through Pollard
Holdings Limited Partnership, manages the business of Pollard Banknote. Pollard
Banknote is one of the world’s leading full-service lottery vendors and is
a major supplier to North America’s charitable gaming industry.
Through the normal course purchases, Pollard Amalco may
elect to purchase up to 314,285 units of the Fund (including the Fund units
purchased as noted above), representing 5% of the Fund’s currently
outstanding units. The actual number of units purchased, and the timing of the
purchases will be determined by Pollard Amalco considering market conditions,
the trading price of the units and other factors. Pollard Amalco believes that, from time to time, the trading
price of the units of the Fund may not reflect their underlying value and
therefore may represent an attractive investment opportunity.
Purchases of units of the Fund by Pollard Amalco may be
made at any time and may be discontinued at any time. There cannot be any
assurances as to how many additional Fund units, if any, will ultimately be
acquired by Pollard Amalco. About Pollard
Amalco Pollard Amalco is a Canadian investment and
holding company whose holdings include an approximate 73.3% interest in Pollard
Holdings Limited Partnership. Pollard Holdings Limited Partnership, through its
operating subsidiaries, conducts the business of Pollard Banknote. Pollard
Amalco is owned and controlled by members of the Pollard family of
Winnipeg. About Pollard Banknote Income
Fund Pollard Banknote Income Fund is an
unincorporated, open-end trust which owns an approximate 26.7% interest in
Pollard Holdings Limited Partnership. Pollard Holdings Limited
Partnership, through its operating subsidiaries, conducts the business of
Pollard Banknote. Additional information on Pollard
Banknote is available on the Fund’s website at:
www.pollardbanknote.com or at
SEDAR, www.sedar.com.
For further information: Gordon Pollard, John Pollard,
Tel: (204) 474-2323.
Add-On Jackpot
Winner, Extra $1 nets $10m, One Florida Lotto™ Ticket Wins $16 Million
Jackpot $6 million base
jackpot plus an additional $10 million TALLAHASSEE, Florida (May 11, 2008) -- The
Florida Lottery announced today that one
ticket matched all six winning numbers in the Saturday, May 10, FLORIDA
LOTTO™ drawing. The lucky player purchased a $2 play, winning $16 million
- the $6 million base jackpot and $10 million from the $2 jackpot prize pool.
Had the player purchased a FLORIDA LOTTO $3 play, he/she would have won $31
million - the base jackpot plus an additional $25 million!
The winning FLORIDA LOTTO numbers were:
11 - 15 - 22 - 23 - 25 - 42 The
winning ticket was sold at the following location: Bud's Mini Mart - $2 Play 1000
Carlton Arms Boulevard Bradenton (Manatee County)
More than 101,000 FLORIDA LOTTO players won cash prizes
for matching three, four or five numbers. Prize payouts are as follows:
- 84 players matched five numbers,
each winning $4,530.50.
- 4,648 players matched four
numbers, each winning $66.50.
- 96,408 players matched three
numbers, each winning $4.50.
FLORIDA LOTTO is Florida's
game of 'choice', offering players three levels of jackpots to choose from: The
base jackpot, a $1 play, starts at $3 million and increases with each rollover
if no one matches the six-of-six winning numbers; a $2 play offers players the
opportunity to win the base jackpot plus $10 million; and, a $3 play offers
players a chance at the base jackpot plus the $10 million and an extra $15
million - for a total of $25 million added to the base jackpot!
The next FLORIDA LOTTO drawing will be held on Wednesday,
May 14 at 11:00 p.m. ET, with a $3 million base jackpot. Webcasts of Florida
Lottery drawings are available on the Lottery's Web site at flalottery.com.
The advertised jackpots are the amount the Lottery will
pay a single winner in 30 annual payments. If there are multiple 6-of-6
winners, the jackpot prizes will be shared equally within the applicable prize
pool. Winners of the $2 and $3 jackpot prize pools will win their share of the
applicable prize pool as well as their share of the lesser jackpot pools.
If no ticket matches all six winning numbers, the base
jackpot rolls over and the cash in the base jackpot prize pool is carried over
to the next drawing. The $2 and $3 jackpot prize pools will not be carried
over. CONTACT: Jacqueline Barreiros, (850)
487-7727
GLI Holds
Incredibly Successful Regulators Roundtables on Two
Continents LAKEWOOD, New Jersey
(May 12, 2008) Gaming Laboratories
International hhas successfully completed regulators roundtables on two
continents, and the reviews have been very positive.
 |
| GLI’s 7th annual North American
Roundtable |
GLI’s 7th annual North
American Roundtable drew more than 200 regulators from 93 jurisdictions across
the United States and Canada. Its 5th annual European Roundtable attracted 47
regulators from 18 jurisdictions across the continent, from the U.K. to
Lithuania. “GLI;s Roundtable is a great
opportunity to become more familiar with new technologies and current world
practices in adopting them. We found the roundtable very useful, and we are
impatiently waiting for the next meeting,” said Danielius Stasys, Head
of Gaming Devices Inspection and Register Division, State Gaming Control
Commission in Lithuania. GLI Sr. Director Engineering
and Client Services Ian Hughes said, “We are thrilled with the way the
roundtables went. Today, 111 jurisdictions around the world are more informed
and more prepared for their regulatory challenges, and that is extremely
beneficial to the global gaming industry. No other company offers such an
experience, and we are proud to present the roundtables and to do it free of
charge.”
 |
| GLI’s 5th Annual European Roundtable
|
GLI will be conducting
condensed versions of the roundtables in multiple international jurisdictions
over the remainder of 2008. Next for GLI is a series of training sessions
throughout the year in the company’s GLI University program. The trainings
are also presented free of charge to regulators. About Gaming Laboratories International
Gaming Laboratories International operates nine fully
accredited testing laboratories worldwide, in addition to fully accredited
inspection bodies in America, Europe and Africa. GLI is the only independent
testing laboratory of its kind to hold both U.S. and International
accreditations for compliance with ISO 17025 and 17020 standards for technical
competence in testing and inspection services. CONTACT: Christie Eickelman, Director of Worldwide Marketing,
Gaming Laboratories International ,+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. GLI Press Release distributed by
Paul Speirs, Steinbeck Communications, P (702) 413-4278, F (702) 233-3492, E
paulspeirs@cox.net.
Lotteries Plan More Joint Games After Successful
Debut Of ‘Midwest Millions’
Nation’s First Joint Instant-Scratch Game
Paves Way For Further Projects Article By: Mary Neubauer, Iowa Lottery and Sally
Lunsford, Kansas Lottery IOWA and KANSAS (May
13, 2008) -- A successful debut by the nation’s first instant-scratch game
sold jointly by separate states has led to plans for more multi-jurisdictional
projects.
The
Kansas and Iowa lotteries became the first in the United
States to offer a joint scratch game when Midwest Millions began sales in
September 2007. Players in both states bought tickets and competed for prizes
as part of an effort to test the “Powerball
concept” that has proven so successful in lotto games. The idea is
that multiple lotteries join together to offer bigger prizes and more chances
to win than they can achieve on their own. “Midwest Millions has joined the list of
multi-jurisdictional games that have achieved success by offering players more
prizes and larger top prizes through the pooling of resources,” Kansas
Lottery Executive Director Ed Van
Petten said. Instant-scratch games are one of the
staples of the modern lottery industry, with multiple games for sale at the
same time and players annually buying billions of dollars worth of the
latex-covered tickets that they scratch off to determine whether they've won a
prize. But until Midwest Millions, instant-scratch games had been an individual
product for each U.S. lottery.
Van Petten found
inspiration for Midwest Millions in the success that Canadian lotteries have
achieved by joining together to offer scratch games with millions of dollars in
prizes. The provincial lotteries in Canada have successfully offered joint
instant-scratch games since 1976. As he initially considered the idea in
mid-2006, Van Petten contacted officials at the Iowa Lottery, who also saw
merit in the project, and the two began the work of bringing a game to market.
Van Petten and Iowa Lottery Acting CEO Ken Brickman
both are pleased with Midwest Millions’ performance and are planning
another joint game with sales to start in September 2008.
“It was invigorating to work on a new generation
of lottery product in Midwest Millions,” Brickman said. “We
look forward to continuing and even improving upon the trend with another joint
scratch game.” The number of tickets that can
be offered in a lottery game and the size and number of prizes that can be
supported are dependent upon population. In 1992, Iowa, Kansas and 13 other
lotteries joined forces to introduce Powerball, which has gone on to produce
world-record jackpots and dozens of multi-millionaire jackpot winners on the
lotto side. Today, Powerball is played in 29 states, Washington, D.C., and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. By joining together to
sell Midwest Millions, Kansas, with a state population of about 2.7 million,
and Iowa, with a population of about 2.9 million, effectively doubled their
population base for the game. Midwest Millions
offered 1.2 million tickets, with 600,000 going to each state. Statewide sales
in the $10 game began in both states on Sept. 10. Instant prizes ranged from
$10 to $50,000 and two second-chance drawings in the game each offered a
$500,000 prize as well as 50 prizes of $1,000. The first drawing was Jan. 11 in
Topeka, Kan., and more than 81,000 entries were received for it. The second
drawing was April 18 in Des Moines, Iowa, with players sending in nearly 80,000
entries for it. Entries in the second-chance
drawings were determined as a percentage of sales (e.g. if one state sold 60
percent of the tickets in the game, it got 60 percent of the entries in the
second-chance drawing). Each state conducted preliminary drawings a few days
before the final drawings; then the entries from those preliminary drawings
were combined for the final joint drawings. The two
states ended up with a nearly even split of sales and entries in the drawings.
Iowa led sales in the first drawing, garnering 59 percent of the entries to
Kansas’ 41 percent. But Kansas came back to achieve 53 percent of the
entries in the second drawing, with Iowa getting 47 percent.
Although both top-prize winners of $500,000 in the
drawings ended up being Iowa Lottery players, each state had multiple winners
of $1,000 prizes. Overall sales in both states also were strong, with Iowa
nearly selling out the game and Kansas selling about 90 percent of its tickets
in a much shorter timeframe than is typical for a $10 game.
Van Petten is good natured
about the outcome of the second-chance drawings and believes the
multi-jurisdictional concept has proven itself in the instant-scratch
category. “Kansas is planning to come
away with both of the top-prize winners in the next game,” he said
with a laugh. “On a serious note, one of the keys to the success of
this game was that the prizes were shared by both states for a true multi-state
approach. Players understood the concept from the start and were attracted by
the game’s large top prizes.” His
thoughts were echoed by Stephen Zabel of Conesville, Iowa, who was drawn as the
$500,000 prize winner in the April 18 drawing. Zabel said he had played Midwest
Millions since the game’s start and sent in several tickets for the
second-chance drawings. “I’ve been
sending them in ever since you came out with that game,” he said.
“I thought it was worth a chance.” The two lotteries plan to call their next
multi-jurisdictional scratch game Midwest Millions II. It will again utilize a
prize payout percentage of 74.07 percent with overall odds of winning 1 in
2.83. There will be a slight change to the second-chance drawings, however. The
location of the drawings will again be split between the two states, but each
drawing will offer a top prize of $500,000 and five prizes of $10,000 to put
even more emphasis on the fact that the game features large prizes.
Brickman said he is pleased by the early success of the
concept. “Midwest Millions gave us the
opportunity to present a new twist on lottery games,” Brickman said.
“It is something our players definitely found intriguing. We’re
committed to continuing to explore the idea and anticipate it may grow into
something even bigger.” SOURCE: By Mary
Neubauer, Iowa Lottery and Sally Lunsford, Kansas Lottery.
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