| Lottomatica Ordinary and Extraordinary
Shareholders’ Meeting ROME
(Italy) - PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (USA) (December 11, 2007) -- The
Shareholders’ Meeting of Lottomatica
S.p.A., chaired by Mr. Lorenzo Pellicioli, was held today where Mr. Jaymin
Patel was appointed to the Board of Directors for a term through the
Shareholders’ Meeting scheduled for the approval of the 2007 Financial
Statement. Jaymin Patel, currently the President and Chief Operating Officer of
the subsidiary GTECH Corporation and, as
previously announced, the next President and Chief Executive Officer of GTECH
Corporation, was already appointed member of the Board on November 9th, 2007.
Mr. Jaymin Patel currently
owns approximately 180,000 Lottomatica shares, as per the company’s
register. Click
here to consult Jaymin Patel’s curriculum vitae.
The Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting has amended
certain articles of the Company Bylaws, particularly in order to implement the
recent requirements regarding the appointment of the members of the Board of
Directors and of the Board of the Statutory Auditors. About Lottomatica S.p.A. (www.gruppolottomatica.it)
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 scalee,
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 2006, 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.
This press release and the previous ones are available on
the web site: www.adhoccommunication.it
Iowa Lottery Offers Text Messaging For The First
Time! New Service Delivers
Lottery Information to Mobile Devices DES
MOINES, Iowa, USA (December 10, 2007) - There's a new service from the
Iowa Lottery! Players can now receive lotto
drawing results, jackpot alerts, plus updates on games, promotions and special
events on their cell phones or mobile devices. The
Iowa Lottery is adding text messaging to the ways people can learn about the
lottery. This new service is in addition to all the other places the lottery
offers information, including televised drawings, the lottery's Web site and
player newsletters and e-mails.
Players can receive text
messages from the Iowa Lottery by sending a request from a mobile device or
signing up on the lottery's Web site at www.ialottery.com.
While the service is free, standard carrier fees apply.
Players should check their service plan to learn what charges they may incur
from text messaging. There are four types of text
messages available from the lottery. The following keywords can be entered from
text-enabled cell phones or mobile devices:
- Text NUMBERS to 97063 for twice
weekly updates on Powerball and Hot Lotto winning numbers and jackpots.
- Text ALERT to 97063 for updates
when the Powerball jackpot is $100 million or more.
- Text PROMO to 97063 for periodic
announcements about new games, promotions and special events.
- Text IALOT to 97063 for all text
messages from the Iowa Lottery.
When a request is received,
players will get a text message back asking for their birth date so the lottery
can verify their age. Players must type in “myage” followed by their
date of birth. For example, if a player was born on Oct. 16, 1977, he/she will
want to enter the birth date as “10161977.” After that message is
sent, subscribers will get another text message back welcoming them to the
service. Players can unsubscribe at any time and the instructions to do that
are included in every message they receive. Players
may also visit the lottery's Web site at www.ialottery.com and sign up there. The
Web site provides a “Text Messaging Frequently Asked
Questions” section where players can get more information about the
new service. Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in
1985, more than $2 billion has been awarded in prizes and more than $1 billion
has been raised for state programs. SOURCE: Iowa
Lottery. INTRALOT Honoured With Significant Business
Awards
ATHENS, Greece (December
10, 2007) -- For the fifth consecutive year INTRALOT received a number of significant
awards among the listed companies on the Athens Stock Exchange, in the context
of “Business Awards MONEY 2007”. During the official ceremony, which took place in Athens on
December 6, INTRALOT’s General Commercial Manager, Mr. Ioannis Katakis,
received the award for “Best Company of FTSE-ASE/20” as well as for
its “Internationalisation” and “Business Innovation”
aptitude. In addition, INTRALOT received awards in the categories of
“High Growth Rates” and “Investor Relations.”
The awards have been an initiative of
“MONEY” financial magazine and are the outcome of a voting
procedure among sell-side analysts, institutional investors and fund managers,
as well as retail investors. The purpose of the competition is to promote and
extol the best of the Athens Stock Exchange listed companies for their
contribution to the development of the stock exchange and the Greek economy in
general.
 |
| Constantinos Antonopoulos, INTRALOT CEO |
Mr. Constantinos Antonopoulos,
INTRALOT’s CEO stated: “We are very honoured to receive these
awards as they confirm our international entrepreneurship by the business
community. I would like to congratulate MONEY magazine for this initiative
which enhances the dynamic growth of the Greek market and encourages vigorous
competition among the listed companies. Such activities are favourable for the
local economy and the expansion of the Greek business competence”.
About INTRALOT
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 over
than 40 countries, with 4.000 people and revenues of €791,4 m. for 2006,
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
UEFA/Betting Manipulations – Strict
Government Control Over Sports Betting Must Be
Preserved BRUSSELS, Belgium
(December 3, 2007) -- Today the President of European Lotteries (EL),
Dr. Winfried Wortmann, has called on
the European Union to take action against betting manipulations in football and
other sports, supporting the call for EU action made by UEFA President Michel
Platini this weekend. The European police network Europol is currently looking
into 26 UEFA matches which were possibly rigged by betting manipulations. The
ongoing investigation follows a number of recent betting scandals in various
European countries.
 |
| Dr.
Winfried Wortmann, EL President |
“The growing number
of actual and attempted manipulations of sporting competitions through betting
illustrates the importance of a strict police and government control over
sports betting. The European Commission is not
doing Europe and its citizens – who want sport to be fair and free of
crime – a favour by pushing national governments to give up this strict
government contro,l” said Dr. Wortmann. In
this context, Dr. Wortmann pointed to the legal proceedings against currently
nine EU Member States through which the European
Commission is pushing national governments to give access to cross-border
sports betting offers. Proceedings against further Member States may follow
soon, according to a recent statement made by the EU Internal Market
Commissioner McCreevy.
“EL members operate
in the public interest and are placed under strict government control; a good
number of them are owned by the state. They are therefore the most reliable
partners for sport when it comes to protecting sporting competitions free of
any improper influence associated with betting,” Dr. Wortmann
added. Dr. Wortmann stressed that EL members strictly
monitor the volume of stakes and closely cooperate with each other and with
UEFA and the authorities. Unlike some commercial operators, EL members do not
accept bets of hundreds of thousands or more Euro on a single match.
“The more money is involved, the higher the danger of
corruption”, said Dr. Wortmann. Dr. Wortmann
wished to bring to people’s attention that the uncontrolled expansion of
betting opportunities – through cross-border internet bets offered by
commercial operators without a national licence – facilitated attempts to
rig matches. Some commercial operators offer up to 8,000 betting opportunities
ever day on events from over 80 areas of sport, he said. An it makes a big
difference whether bets can only be placed on the final results of a match, as
with state operators, or on individual actions during the match, as with
commercial operators. Dr. Wortmann also recalled the
fact that the major sports leagues in the United States had declared, in an
open letter to the U.S. Congress earlier this year, their firm opposition to
any liberalisation of sports betting in their country, warning of the dangers
to the integrity of sport. Dr. Wortmann concluded by
expressing EL’s willingness to intensify its long-standing cooperation
with UEFA and offered EL’s full support to the EU institutions to help
ensure that sporting competitions in Europe are fair and free of any improper
influence and criminal activities. About European
Lotteries (https://www.european-lotteries.org)
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: Tjeerd Veenstra,
Legal Spokesman, EL M: + 31.653.347.410 or Rupert Hornig, General Delegate, EL
M: + 32.485.077.234 Background information:
- The European Commission launched
infringement proceedings against Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden between April 2006 and June 2007.
The European Commission is of the view that the freedom to provide services in
the EU internal market (article 49 EC-Treaty) obliges Member States to give
access to cross-border sports betting offers. So far the European Commission
has not taken any of these cases to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Proceedings against further member states may follow.
- On 6 March 2007, the European
Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed its standing jurisprudence since 1994 that EU
Member States have the right to restrict the offer of gambling services and the
number of operators on their territory if justified by reasons of overriding
general interest such as consumer protection, the prevention of both fraud and
incitement to squander on gaming, as well as the general need to preserve
public order (Placanica case, C-338/04; www.curia.europa.eu).
- On 13 March 2007, the EFTA Court
dismissed the first-ever infringement case on gambling in the European Economic
Area brought forward by the European Commission’s EFTA counterpart,
expressedly upholding Norway’s state-operated monopoly on gaming machines
(E-1/06; www.eftacourt.lu).
- The European Union’s
legislative bodies, the European Parliament and the Council, have always
recognised that gambling in all its forms, including sports betting, is a very
sensitive activtity which national governments must be able to control
effectively. Accordingly, they refused to open national gambling markets to
cross-border competition by excluding gambling from the EU Directives on
E-Commerce (2000), on Services (2006) and, most recently, on Audiovisual Media
Services.
SOURCE: European State
Lotteries and Toto Association Press Release.
Principles of
Contemporary Lottery Marketing Is Now Available
BOYDS, Maryland, USA (December 2007) - TLF Publications,
Inc., publisher of La Fleur’s Magazine, has just released the all-new La
Fleur’s Principles of Contemporary Lottery Marketing (3rd Edition). In
classic textbook style, the book features 29 case studies of new lottery game
start-ups or relaunches in Australia, Canada, Eastern and Western Europe, New
Zealand and the United States—including instant, daily numbers, lotto,
multi-jurisdictional lotto, raffle, bingo, hybrid and video lottery.
The hard-bound book also
includes a companion DVD and CD set featuring examples of television, radio,
print, Internet and point-of-sale advertising for the featured marketing
campaigns. “It has been 13 years since TLF
Publications last compiled the 2nd edition of Principles of Contemporary
Lottery Marketing back in 1994,” said Terri La Fleur, publisher, TLF
Publications. “Case studies chosen for this book resulted from our
editorial research for stories published in La Fleur’s Magazine. This book
will definitely add to the ‘mindshare’ among lottery marketers by
illustrating what their peers are doing around the world to grow lottery
sales.” Among the case studies discussed in
the book are higher instant ticket price point launches, instant campaigns
integrating proceed beneficiaries, umbrella product campaigns, sports league
tie-ins, summer promotions, iBingo, mobile gaming, BovineUnite, VIP clubs,
street team marketing, text message marketing, Internet Poker, family branding
campaign, full-product line campaign, online variable prize payout,
EuroMillions, Big Wednesday lotto, 5-digit lotto, short-run hybrid lottery,
Fast Play Bingo, multi-jurisdictional raffle, King Kong Millions raffle and
line game VLT launch. Each case study is presented in
a uniform format that details the following aspects of the campaign:
competitive environment, demographic profile of lottery players, marketing
situation summary, campaign objectives, marketing strategy and results. The
case studies in La Fleur’s Principles of Contemporary Lottery Marketing
are complemented by extensive graphical exhibits of marketing pieces, including
print advertisements, Internet banners, point-of-sale pieces, retailer
brochures and game logos. Principles of Contemporary
Lottery Marketing (3rd Edition) costs USD $395 plus postage and handling. It
can be ordered online at www.lafleurs.com
or by emailing to terri@lafleurs.com
for an order form. Report on the
Five-year Statutory Review of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 - December
2007 SYDNEY, NSW, Australia
(December 7, 2007) -- The State Government has announced a range of reforms to
the NSW gaming machine laws following a wide-ranging review of the Gaming
Machines Act 2001. NOTE:
These
proposals are contained in a review report that has been tabled in the
Parliament, and is available by clicking here.
STATEMENT BY
THE MINISTER FOR GAMING AND RACING This
report details the results of a review of the Gaming Machines Act 2001
undertaken by the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, Department of the
Arts, Sport and Recreation. The review is required by section 216 of the
Act.
The Act requires me to
review the Act after five years, to determine whether the policy
objectives of the Act remain valid, and whether the terms
of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.
The principal objectives of the Act are the minimisation
of harm associated with the misuse and abuse of
gambling activities and fostering the responsible conduct of gambling in
venues. All those with functions under the Act are required to have due regard
to the need for gambling harm minimisation and the fostering of responsible
conduct in relation to gambling when exercising those functions.
A total of 66 external submissions were received on the
review. The review found that, overall, the Act’s
policy objectives remain valid, and the effectiveness of the Act in achieving
those objectives has been confirmed. However, certain
provisions contained in the Act require amendment to ensure the appropriate
level of control and compliance with the Act. Graham
West MP Minister for Gaming and Racing SOURCE: NSW
Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing.
PacificNet
Signs Agreement to Acquire Octavian International - Global Provider of Gaming
Technology Acquisition
Anticipated to be Accretive to PacificNet's Consolidated Earnings Per Share
(EPS) in 2008 BEIJING, China (December 7,
2007) -- PacificNet, Inc. announced
today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% ownership of
Octavian International Limited ("Octavian"), a worldwide supplier of gaming
technology, solutions and systems.
The transaction is subject
to various conditions, including the completion of due diligence, which has
already commenced. PacificNet will issue restricted shares of PACT representing
approximately 19.5% of PacificNet's outstanding shares. There is also an
additional cash performance bonus. According to
Octavian's financial reports as audited by Grant Thornton UK LLP under UK GAAP,
Octavian had a revenue of approx $64.6 million, gross profit of approx $18.4
million, EBITDA of approx $6.2 million USD, and pre-tax profit of $5.5 million,
for fiscal year ending Dec 31, 2006. This acquisition is expected to increase
PacificNet's overall gaming revenues and profits and is expected to be
accretive to PacificNet's consolidated Earnings Per Share (EPS) in 2008. Upon
completion, Octavian would continue operating under its current name as a
wholly-owned subsidiary of PacificNet and would continue to pursue its global
growth strategy as a leading provider of gaming technology. Harmen
Brenninkmeijer would become an executive director of PacificNet and a member of
the board of directors, and continue to server as CEO of the Octavian
subsidiary within PacificNet's gaming division. Furthermore, upon completion of
the earn-out provisions and profit targets as defined in the acquisition
agreement, Harmen Brenninkmeijer would become President of PacificNet's Global
Gaming Division. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of
2008. Sterne Agee has been appointed as the financial
advisor for Octavian for this transaction.
Axel Krogvig
Appointed as CEO of Norsk Tipping HAMAR, Norway (December 10, 2007) -- The Board of Directors
of Norsk Tipping has appointed Axel
Krogvig as the Company’s new Acting Chief Executive Officer. He takes up
the position with immediate effect.
“The Board is
extremely pleased that Axel Krogvig has accepted the position as Acting CEO.
Axel Krogvig has broad experience in leading major companies, and there is no
doubt that Norsk Tipping will benefit greatly from his long experience and
expertise,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors Sigmund Thue.
“I take up the position with a sense of
humility. Norsk Tipping is a very modern and well-run company, and a spearhead
for domestic Norwegian companies,” says Acting CEO Axel Krogvig.
Axel Krogvig comes from his position as Special Advisor in
Nortura BA, where he was also CEO from 2000 and until the autumn of 2007. He is
57 years old, and has three grown up children. He is originally from Ringsaker
in Hedmark. CONTACT: Peer Jacob Svenkerud, +47 91 55
43 68, Senior Vice President, Information and Public Relations.
Atlantic Lottery Corporation Board
Appointments MONCTON, New
Brunswick, Canada (December 7, 2007) -- Kevin Breen of St. John’s, NL and
Paul Jelley of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island have been appointed to the
Board of Directors for the Atlantic Lottery
Corporation (ALC). Mr. Breen is regional director
for Chicago Title Insurance and has long been active in the community. He
currently serves on the Board of Directors of the St. John’s Port
Corporation and is an honorary Life Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador
Lung Association. He has previously served as a councilor with the St.
John’s City Council and as president of the NL School Trustees
Association.
Mr. Breen replaces Gary
Norris as an ALC Board member. Mr. Norris stepped down from the Board to focus
on his new role as Clerk to the Executive Council. Paul Jelley served as a senior official with the Government
of Prince Edward Island for several years, most recently as the Deputy
Provincial Treasurer. Prior to his public service, he was employed as General
Manager with the Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Marketing Agency, and as General
Manager with the PEI Marketing Council. Mr. Jelley is an active member of the
community, and is a past president of the PEI Hockey Association and Sport
PEI. Mr. Jelley replaces Michael O’Brien as an
ALC Board member. Mr. O'Brien, who was elected to the Board while at
Government, retired from Government in June 2006 and elected to leave the Board
in 2007 after over 10 years. “Both Gary Norris
and Michael O’Brien have ably served on ALC’s Board of Directors for
many years,” said Board Chair Sean O’Connor. “We want to
thank Gary and Michael for their dedication and service to the ALC Board of
Directors.” ALC’s Board of Directors is
made up of eight voting members – two from each Atlantic Canadian province
– and an independent Chair, which is a non-voting position. The Board
determines ALC’s strategic direction and corporate policies, guides
business operations, approves the annual business plan and budgets and oversees
their implementation at monthly meetings. For more
information please
CONTACT: Paula Dyke, Atlantic Lottery Corporation,
1-800-561-3942 or 1-506-867-5550, Email: paula.dyke@alc.ca FLUXX Announces New Cooperation in
UK FLUXX Subsidiary JAXX
Joins Lycos UK in Betting Partnership GERMANY
(December 13, 2007) -- Online bookmaker JAXX UK, a 100 per cent subsidiary of
FLUXX AG, has boosted its presence in the UK
market with a deal to become LYCOS UK’s exclusive betting and gaming
partner. The two-year deal with the leading web portal
is the second major online partnership that JAXX has made as it seeks to build
its presence in the UK.
| Advertisement |
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The performance and
revenue-share deal is an ideal partnership as the typical LYCOS user is a
web-savvy 18 to 35-year-old professional with an interest in sport and current
affairs, corresponding perfectly with the JAXX target market.
JAXX will become an integrated partner of Lycos Network
Europe, which represents 10.8 million users per month in the UK. The co-branded
betting site will be available exclusively to users of the LYCOS.co.uk.
"The LYCOS product range has been developed
specifically to gather communities of users together around exciting services
that are presented in a simple, appealing and entertaining way, so we felt that
the JAXX model was a perfect complement to our in-house offerings,”
says Roland Schaber, Managing Sales Director of Lycos UK. "The user-friendly
interface and strong emphasis on customer service, combined with a strong range
of betting and gaming products, will appeal strongly to our regular
users.” The LYCOS deal is a major coup for
JAXX, which launched in the UK in September. The company is a division of
German lottery and gaming group FLUXX AG, which is currently pursuing an
ambitious international expansion programme under the JAXX and MyBet
brands. "LYCOS is a high profile brand in the
internet community and this deal provides a significant boost to the reach of
our brand,” says Mark Irvine, Managing Director of JAXX UK. "We
have an established track record of building successful third party
partnerships in Germany and this is a strategy we are actively exploring to
build partnerships and presence in the UK.” JAXX UK is operated by a dedicated London-based team,
including traders, marketers and affiliate managers, while existing teams in
Malta and Germany will provide customer support. About Lycos: Lycos Europe
(ISIN NL0000233195) is one of the leading European portal providers and online
advertisers operating a network of websites in seven languages in Europe and
the USA. The company's combination of search, communication services, online
communities, content channels, Internet access, shopping, homepage building and
domain names registration addresses a wide range of target groups.
SOURCE: FLUXX AG IR Release. 
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