Sports Lottery Games or Sports Betting are where outcomes are determined by the results of sporting events.
In most cases they represent a hybrid of a lottery and skill game, since in theory, a knowledge of the sport enhances the players chances
Sports lotteries are the most popular lottery games in much of the world (where they are frequently called "toto" or "football pools") but have not achieved this level of popularity in North America.
They are offered throughout Canada but in the United States are only sold in Delaware and Oregon.
Toto was introduced in 1923 by Littlewoods Pools of the United Kingdom. Based on soccer matches, it quickly became popular throughout Europe and Latin America, reflecting the interest in soccer in these regions. In most countries, Toto uses a far smaller list of fixtures, frequently 10 to 13 games.
The Nordic countries offer a wide array of sports games using various formats, including:

• Results-based (players predict the winners of 13 matches);
• Odds-based (players bet on spreads set by the lottery organization); and
• Goals-based (players predict the number of goals scored in a given game).

The Australian lotteries go a step further than most in merging the lottery and a sports based game. Players choose six matches out of a field of 38, trying to predict the six games that will result in the highest scouring draws. The 6/38 format, however, enables players to pick numbers at random, much like a Lotto, in addition to which there is a computer generated number selection option.
Sports-based games also have followings in Singapore and Israel.
SOURCE: The Whole World Lottery Guide.

Sports Betting - Zero Tolerance Policy Adopted
Article By: Ilkka Juva, Communications Director, Veikkaus Oy.
VEIKKAUS, Finland (December 20, 2005) -- An anonymous player of the Finnish premier league in football (Veikkausliiga) confessed recently in a newspaper interview that he had attempted to make sure his own team would lose in a league match. .............................Subscribers

Soccer Betting Set to Become Number One in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (November 26, 2005) – Soccer gambling in Hong Kong is reportedly challenging Horse racing as the most popular gambling past time............................Subscribers

Football Betting Does it for Hong Kong
HONG KONG (June 20, 2005) -- In what is seen as a partial victory over illegal bookmakers and offshore betting syndicates, Hong Kong's revenue from horse racing and football combined is tantalizingly close to the all-time record............................Subscribers

Veikkaus Introduces New Fixed Odds Betting Events
VEIKKAUS, Finland (February 2005) -- Finnish lottery Veikkaus made a game reform to its Fixed Odds Betting product in mid-February. Players now have a chance to bet on events that were not previously offered in Fixed Odds Betting...............................Subscribers

Football Betting Advertising Discouraged
HONG KONG (November 29, 2004) -- Jockey Club Football Betting Limited has been asked to avoid having soccer gambling advertising outside its off-course betting branches..........................Subscribers

Soccer Betting Reaches HK$16.1 Billion in Eleven Months
HONG KONG (July 10, 2004) -- Hong Kong's first legal soccer betting operator has reportedly earned profits of 3.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$423 million) in 11 months...........................Subscribers

Federation Calls for Legalised Football Betting
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (June 12, 2004) - The Asian Football Federation (AFC) has called for soccer betting to be legalised in the region to combat illegal gambling and increase interest in the sport.......................Subscribers

Good News for Football Betting Enthusiasts!
SINGAPORE (November 26, 2003) -- Singapore Pools will offer SCORE betting for all the football matches of Vietnam 2003 to be held in Vietnam from 29 Nov - 12 Dec 2003. Three SCORE bet types -- 1X2, 1/2 GOAL and TOTAL GOALS -- will be offered for sale.............................Subscribers

DNV Reviews Lottery and Football Pools Companies' Security Arrangements
Norsk Tipping has allowed Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to examine and approve its security systems.
HAMAR, Norway (November 4, 2003) -- Det Norske Veritas (DNV) has certified Norsk Tipping AS and signed a contract with the World Lottery Association (WLA), which represents 143 state-owned lottery companies in 74 countries............................Read the full story at: Vol.25. No.6

Changes at Hong Kong Lottery
HONG KONG (August 8, 2003) -- The Mark Six business previously operated by the Hong Kong Lotteries Board shall be undertaken by HKJC Lotteries Limited, the sole legal operator of Mark Six and a subsidiary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.........................Subscribers

Start of Legal Soccer Betting Attracts Mostly Small Wagers
HONG KONG (August 4, 2003) -- Just days after Hong Kong launched legal soccer betting, operators said on Monday they're taking in mostly small wagers and critics believe high rollers are likely sticking with the illegal bookmakers.......................Subscribers

Legal Football Betting Kicks Off in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (July 2, 2003) -- Gamblers in Hong Kong placed their first legal wagers on football yesterday as the territory kicked off a new betting operation...................Subscribers

Hong Kong Gets Ready for Soccer Betting on European Matches
HONG KONG (July 23, 2003) — Gamblers in Hong Kong will be able to wager legally on soccer matches starting August 1 and officials forecast revenues of 30 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$3.8 billion) in the first year...................Subscribers

Hong Kong Issues Football Betting License, Will Establish a Football Betting and Lotteries Commission
HONG KONG (July 18, 2003) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has issued a license for conducting football betting to HKJC Football Betting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, according to the Betting Duty (Amendment) Ordinance.......................Subscribers

Hong Kong Legalises Soccer Betting
HONG KONG (July 10, 2003) -- Hong Kong lawmakers passed a Bill legalising soccer gambling by a 30-24 vote on Thursday. Hong Kong will now join Macau, Singapore and mainland China as the few places in Asia where some form of betting on football is allowed.........................Subscribers.

Lottery Reaps a Bonanza From World Cup Betting
SINGAPORE (July 1, 2002) – Singaporeans waged over S$200 million ($113 million) on soccer's world cup last month after the government allowed betting on the tournament in a bid to neutralise illegal bookmakers..................Read the full story at: Vol.20 No.2

STRIKE! - Singapore Pools to Offer New Game Based on Foreign Football Matches
SINGAPORE (April 27, 2002) -- Singapore will capitalise on the local love of football and gambling by relaxing rules to allow betting on this year’s World Cup Finals, and also European matches................... Read the full story at: Vol.19 No.6

Norsk Tipping Meets the Challenge!
HAMAR, Norway (December 20, 2001) -- The Norwegian national lottery, Norsk Tipping AS, meets the competition from foreign internet sportsbetting-companies with great news for the players.
From December 4th 2001 Norsk Tipping offers betting on just two games instead of three on the long list, and many games are even open for single bets. The customers are thrilled!

SATISFIED – FOR NOW

Asbjørn Nilsen, the product manager of sports betting at Norsk Tipping, is happy. Despite hard competition, sales are going through the roof...

A fantastic success!
This statement from Asbjørn Nilsen (Photo), product manager of sportsgames at Norsk Tipping AS, summarizes the impact that the introduction of the new "Oddsen" has had in its first two weeks. The old all-time-high-record for sales in one week was smashed the first week. The old record was NOK 34.7 million – the new one is NOK 38.5 million!
I’m sure this will bring back a lot of the customers we have lost during the last couple of years, the product manager says.
Increasing every year
This is by far the biggest happening for the long list of fans since the game Oddsen was introduced in Norway, just before the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994. Although the Oddsen-turnover has increased year by year from the start, there is little doubt that the privately owned Internet-based companies are gradually eating their way into the Norwegian market.
The competitors have gained both turnover and goodwill for their single bet-offers, and Norsk Tipping has had to endure quite a lot of criticism from the most eager sportsbetters.
But after the news was presented on December 4th, most of the criticism has subsided.
Singles and doubles
The most significant news is that Norsk Tipping has abandoned the old requirement of at least three matches correctly predicted (home, draw, away), so called triples. All matches are now open for doubles, and many of the matches are even open for single bets. At the other end it’s now open for combinations up to ten matches, against the previous limit of six matches.
Almost until the whistle
Another well-received change, is that the games are open for betting up to five minutes before the games start. Until December 4th cut-off was effectuated at least 30 minutes before match-start.
So just bring’em on – Norsk Tipping is ready...
SOURCE: Norsk Tipping AS.
CONTACT: Asbjørn Nilsen, Product Manager of Sportsgames, Phone: +47 625 140 00, Fax: +47 625 271 52.

British Columbia Lottery Corporation Partners with SplashDot to Unveil Oddset Action Contest
VANCOUVER, Canada (April 30, 2001) -- British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has expanded and enhanced the experience for visitors to its Web site, www.bclc.com, through an innovative on-line campaign.
The Oddset Action Contest, running from April 12 - May 16, 2001, encourages contestants to play a Sports Action Oddset game against other on-line contestants in order to see who can amass the most Sports Action Dollars.
The contest provides visitors with a simulated version of Sports Action Oddset for a chance to win great prizes, including a trip for two to the Stanley Cup Finals.
This represents the second collaboration between BCLC and SplashDot.
"SplashDot's modular solutions do much more than create flexible campaigns like Oddset Action," explains Mike Gehrmann, Manager of BCLC's creative department. "SplashDot allows us to provide an innovative and captivating site experience that entertains and informs www.bclc.com visitors - and keeps them coming back."
By creating a free on-line game, BCLC is hoping to reward its current players as well as attract new ones. BCLC is already a trendsetter in providing new on-line experiences for www.bclc.com visitors.
In the Fall of 2000, BCLC worked with SplashDot to launch its highly successful on-line campaign for BC's Set for Life Scratch and Win ticket.
"We are very proud that BCLC chose SplashDot's modular solutions for BC's Set for Life and Sports Action Oddset," says Patrick Watson, SplashDot's CEO.
"By helping sites increase 'stickiness', user loyalty and brand recognition, SplashDot plans to make its innovative approach a mainstay on lottery and gaming Web sites worldwide."
BCLC's Oddset Action Contest can be found directly at www.sportsactionbc.com.
SOURCE: BCLC (www.bclc.com).
CONTACT: Mike Gehrmann, Manager, Creative, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, (604) 276-6427, mgehrmann@bclc.com.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Introduce Enhancements to Pro Line Sports Lotteries
TORONTO, Ontario (Sept. 3, 2000) -- "It's a great time for sports fans! With a new pro football season in the U.S. starting this weekend, U.S. college football already underway, and with another hockey season coming, we're announcing the biggest and best enhancements ever to our PRO LINE sports lotteries. These are the most significant changes since we started sports wagering nearly eight years ago. Our players are going to take the ball and run with it!" Alan Berdowski, Senior Vice-President Sales and Marketing of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC) said today. New enhanced versions of Ontario's own sports wagering games are now available at all OLGC retailers.
"Our sports games have been a big hit with players who have wagered $1.65 billion and won more than $969 million in prizes since we introduced sports wagering to Ontario. Since then we've talked to players extensively about the games and we think these enhancements to PRO LINE will be a hit," said Mr. Berdowski.
Highlights include:
PRO LINE

• Builds on the best elements of the current version of PRO LINE;
• Retains the central feature of wagering on one of three possible outcomes - Visitor Team Win (V), Tie (T), or a Home Team Win (H);
• Adds option of two new possible outcomes - Visitor Team Win or Home Team Win by a set "spread" (V+ or H+);
• Combines an OVER/UNDER feature into the same game (in place of the separate OVER/UNDER game) with individual odds for whether the total score of a sports contest will be OVER or UNDER the line set by the OLGC;
• Allows players to select two outcomes for one event;
• The number of sports offerings will increase from 80 to 99 events per week;
• Minimum wager remains at $2 and maximum wager remains at $100

PRO PICKS

• An exciting and entirely new feature called PRO PICKS in which players can bet on how well an athlete or team will perform compared against a list of other athletes or teams over a period of time (typically one week). With PRO PICKS players will try to predict which athlete or team from a group will finish first, or players will try to predict which athletes or teams will finish first, second or third from the group.

PRO PICKS is a new concept that gives players more opportunity to apply their knowledge and skill. There's tremendous interest in following statistics and predicting how individual players or teams will perform in certain categories. Which quarterback will have the most passing yards this week?
Which hitter will have the most total bases? Which team will score the most goals? PRO PICKS gives the sports fan an entirely new way to compete for cash prizes and bragging rights!
Sports wagering was first introduced in Ontario in October 1992 with the launch of PRO LINE. The OVER/UNDER game was launched in January 1995 and POINT SPREAD was launched in August 1996.
Consumer research shows that PRO LINE players are an interesting group.
The players are predominantly male (80%) and aged 18-39 (73%). 76% of PRO LINE players work full-time outside of the home (compared to 54% of the general adult population). 46% of them have completed at least high school education (compared to 38% of the general adult population of Ontario). PRO LINE players have a significantly higher mean household income than the general adult population ($63,420 vs. $53,270).
Detailed information on the enhancements is available in brochures at retail outlets, and by visiting the OLGC sports website www.sportselect.com, or by calling the OLGC at 1-800-387-0098.
SOURCE: OLGC Corporate Communications, (416) 324-6541 or (705) 946-6716.