• Texas Lottery Commission Votes To Propose Mega Millions™ Game Changes. Full Story.
• Lottomatica Outlines New 2005-07 Business Plan. Full Story.
• New Zealand Lotteries Commission Selects Lead Bidder for Management Information System (MIS) Contract. Full Story
• Tennessee Lottery Sales Surpass $1 Billion; Education Continues to Win. Full Story.
• Smartplay Named Apparent Successful Bidder for the Washington Lottery's Solicitation for an Automated Draw Machine System. Full Story.
• Player Activated Terminals Offer Customers the Convenience of Self-Service. Full Story.
• Minnesota State Lottery Reminds Players to Be Alert to Lottery Scams. Full Story.
• Lottery Dynamics LLC Announce Patent Filing Covering........ Full Story.
• New Director Appointments at Lotterywest. Full Story.
• Pennsylvania Sells $18.7 Million Winning Powerball® Jackpot Ticket. Full Story.

Texas Lottery Commission Votes To Propose Mega Millions™ Game Changes

AUSTIN, Texas (March 11, 2005) - Today, the Texas Lottery Commission voted to propose rule amendments to the Mega Millions™ game. The proposed changes come after the California Lottery announced last month that it plans to become the 12th lottery member to join the multi-state game.

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"We welcome the opportunity to work with the California Lottery, and having them as an addition to the Mega Millions game will help generate those larger jackpots that players like," said Reagan E. Greer, executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission. "Since Texas joined the game in December 2003, sales in Texas for Mega Millions and the Megaplier feature total more than $343.1 million. Of those sales, more than $136.3 million has been transferred to the Foundation School Fund, which helps support public education in Texas."

The new Mega Millions game is expected to begin this summer, and is projected to generate more than $67 million in additional revenue to the state from sales for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2005 through Fiscal Year 2009.

"There are certainly some new aspects of the game changes that our players will want to be aware of," said Greer. "Overall though, I believe these changes will create a positive scenario for all players and the participating states."

Some of the proposed changes to Mega Millions include:

• New Matrix: Players will choose five numbers from 1 to 56 and then a Mega Ball number from a second field of 1 to 46.
• Higher Starting Jackpots: The starting grand/jackpot prize amount will change from $10 million to $12 million.
• Higher Payouts For Second And Third Tier Prizes: The second prize level will change from $175,000 to $250,000 and the third prize level will change from $5,000 to $10,000.
• Odds To Win Grand/Jackpot Prize: The odds of matching all the numbers and the Mega Ball for the grand/jackpot prize will change from 1 in 135 million to 1 in 175.7 million.
• Better Overall Odds: The overall odds of winning any prize will be approximately 1 in 40.

There will be no changes made to Texas' Megaplier™ feature, in which players have the chance to double, triple or quadruple any non-grand/jackpot Mega Millions prize.

That means players could have the chance to win up to $1 million for matching the first five numbers, but not the Mega Ball (second prize level) if the Megaplier number drawn is a 4.

The proposed changes will be published in the Texas Register for a 30-day public comment period, and a public hearing to comment on the proposed changes is scheduled for April 7, 2005, at 9 a.m. at Lottery headquarters in Austin.

For more information about the Texas Lottery®, please visit the official Texas Lottery Commission Web site at http://www.txlottery.org

SOURCE: Texas Lottery Commission Press Release - March 11, 2005.
CONTACT: Media Relations, 512-344-5131.

Lottomatica Outlines New 2005-07 Business Plan

MILAN, Italy (March 10, 2005) - Rosario Bifulco, CEO and Managing Director of Lottomatica S.p.a. and Fabio Celadon, Finance Director of the same Company, today presented the new Lottomatica Group 2005-2007 Business Plan to the financial community. The Plan confirms the strategic objectives of 2004-2006 Plan and envisages a 2004-2007 CAGR in the Ebitda margin equal to approximately 5%.

In detail, the Plan sets out the following points:

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Lotto Game

The Plan strategy is aimed at grasping the growth opportunities in betting offered by the innovations introduced with 2005 Budget Law. The communication strategy will be aimed at supporting wagers by promoting awareness of the changes adopted.

"Terminals Project": Lottomatica has approved a substantial investment in the network's modernisation through the replacement of approximately 33,000 terminals with new-generation terminals and consequent significant improvement in flexibility, functionality, easy maintenance and service efficiency.

Diversification of gaming portfolio

Lottomatica continues its policy of diversification of its gaming portfolio and in particular expects:

• A further development of Scratch & Win lottery (with a forecast collection of up to 2.4 billion Euro in 2007 compared to 400 million Euro collected in 2004).
• The start of pari-mutuel betting and potential upside from fixed-odds betting.

Services further development

In this sector, which has always been central to the most recent Lottomatica business plans, the new Plan is characterised by:

• A strong increase in the services currently in portfolio;
• The development of new payment and collection services (e.g. utilities bills);
• The launch of Stamp Duties and Stored Value; and
• The network expansion and diversification (over 45,000 direct POS in 2007).

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Margins improvement

After already achieving in 2004 the cost savings forecast for 2005 (60 million Euro in the 2003-2004 period in addition to 13 million Euro out of 2002), the Company expects further efficiencies of approximately 30 million Euro by 2007.

External growth

The company intends to select international value accretive growth . Particular attention is focused on the international lottery markets and on the home- and international-service markets.

Dividend policy

As already reported to the market, the Board of Directors of Lottomatica, held on March 8, 2004, proposed to distribute a dividend of 1.7 Euro per share. The dividend policy will continue to return cash to shareholders in the Plan period.

"The new plan envisages further development in Services and the continuous diversification of the gaming portfolio to enhance cash generation." said Rosario Bifulco, CEO of the Company. "The company intends to assess possible value accretive growth opportunities for external lines, and to maintain an important dividend policy to return excess cash to shareholders", concluded the Managing Director of Lottomatica.

SOURCE: Lottomatica S.p.a. media release.

New Zealand Lotteries Commission Selects Lead Bidder for Management Information System (MIS) Contract

NEW ZEALAND (March 17, 2005) -- The New Zealand Lotteries Commission (NZ Lotteries) has selected SAP New Zealand Limited (SAP) as lead bidder for a new Management Information System (MIS), Chief Executive Trevor Hall announced today.

He said contract negotiations and the finalisation of system specifications would now commence and were expected to take several months.

"The contract will cover the supply and implementation of the MySAP ERP product suite to meet NZ Lotteries business requirements for its finance, retailer management, stock management and distribution, helpdesk, human resources, and analysis and reporting functions. MySAP ERP is an off-the-shelf package based on SAP Best Practice business processes," said Mr. Hall.

He said that depending on progress with contract negotiations and related issues, NZ Lotteries anticipated going live with the first phase of the project in December 2005 and with the second phase April 2006.

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About NZ Lotteries:

NZ Lotteries (New Zealand Lotteries Commission) was established in 1987 and operates in the New Zealand market as a crown entity under the Gambling Act 2003. Its purpose is to provide safe gaming that allows New Zealanders to play and win and contribute money back to New Zealand communities. For more information: www.nzlotteries.co.nz

About SAP:

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software solutions*. Today, more than 26,150 customers in over 120 countries run more than 88,700 installations of SAP® software -- from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize businesses to enterprise-scale suite solutions for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver™ platform to drive innovation and enable business change, mySAP™ Business Suite solutions are helping enterprises around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations.
SAP industry solutions support the unique business processes of more than 25 industry segments, including high tech, retail, public sector and financial services.
With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." (Additional information at http://www.sap.com).

SOURCE: New Zealand Lotteries Commission media release.
CONTACT: Helen Morgan-Banda, Head of Communications, Phone: 04 802 7020.

Tennessee Lottery Sales Surpass $1 Billion; Education Continues to Win

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, USA (March 12, 2005) -- The Tennessee Lottery announced today that gross ticket sales have surpassed $1 billion after one year and seven weeks of ticket sales.

"This is terrific news for education," said CEO and President Rebecca Paul. "Tennessee players have embraced this new way to raise dollars for education. This milestone represents an ongoing level of success that we are committed to continue."

So what exactly is one billion? Here’s a few fun ways to consider the astronomical number:

• One billion is one thousand million -- a one followed by nine zeros -- $1,000,000,000.00.
• One billion 4" Tennessee Lottery instant tickets set end-to-end would be long enough to completely circle the earth two and one-half times.
• If you counted from one to one billion, counting one number per second non-stop without breaking for sleep, you would be counting for over 31 years.

In addition to the $1 billion milestone, the Tennessee Lottery will soon share other exciting announcements, including details about its fourth computerized game, set to begin late spring, and the amount of its next transfer to the Lottery for Education Account on April 15.

"This will be an exciting year for players and students, so stay tuned," said Paul.

The Tennessee Lottery began selling its first instant tickets on January 20, 2004. Proceeds as of December 31, 2004 have resulted in transfers to the Lottery for Education Account of $231.2 million, in addition to more than $2 million for after-school programs. All Lottery profits will go to pay for specific education programs in Tennessee, which initially include HOPE Scholarships.

SOURCE: Tennessee Lottery media release.
CONTACT: Kym Gerlock, (615) 324-6556 Office, (615) 604-2827 Mobile.

Smartplay Named Apparent Successful Bidder for the Washington Lottery's Solicitation for an Automated Draw Machine System

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SOUTHAMPTON, New Jersey (March 14, 2005) -- On March 9, Smartplay International, Inc. of Southampton, New Jersey was named apparent successful bidder in the Washington Lottery's solicitation for an Automated Draw Machine System.

With the execution of this contract, Smartplay will have prevailed in the three domestic bid opportunities for digital draw systems, since introduction of their Origin system at NASPL 03.

The Origin has been installed at Arizona and New Mexico lotteries.

SOURCE: Smartplay International, Inc. (www.smartplay.com).
For further information please
CONTACT: Linda Turner, VP Sales. Phone: 609 859-1133, Email: linda@smartplay.com.

Player Activated Terminals Offer Customers the Convenience of Self-Service

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (March 15, 2005) -- Governor Edward G. Rendell and Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Lottery Ed Mahlman today celebrated the success of a new Player Activated Terminal (PAT) by participating in a ribbon cutting ceremony at a local restaurant, The Spot. Governor Rendell congratulated restaurant owner Billy Kaldes on the recent installation of his PAT, and applauded the record, weekly sales achieved by the self-service, stand alone terminal.

The Spot’s PAT was activated on March 1, and in its first week of business, the new Lottery retailer achieved sales of $4,297, the highest weekly sales from any PAT in the state to date.

"People have been coming to The Spot for its great food for many years," said Governor Rendell. "In recent days, they have also been coming here because they are great fans of the Pennsylvania Lottery.

"The Spot’s Player Activated Terminal is a terrific example of how these state-of-the-art machines are helping businesses that can’t support traditional Lottery sales operations become successful Lottery retailers."

Governor Rendell also noted that The Spot is participating in a Lottery program that encourages retailers’ compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To attract businesses to become new retailers, the Lottery offers financial incentives for businesses to make renovations to their retail locations so that all residents may access the stores. With help from the Lottery, Kaldes expects that his restaurant will be fully accessible to disabled patrons by this time next year.

PATs are user-friendly, touch screen terminals that offer all Pennsylvania Lottery numbers games and 16 instant games. In addition to selling Lottery games, PATs also validate winning tickets for numbers games and pay prizes up to $500 in the form of vouchers. Vouchers can be inserted into a PAT to purchase more Lottery tickets, or they can be cashed at a Lottery retailer. Instant tickets must be processed and paid by a clerk at a Lottery retailer.

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The Pennsylvania Lottery was the first in the country to introduce PATs – which sell both instant and numbers games – in May 2004. The Lottery continues to install PATs at new and existing retailers across Pennsylvania.

About the Pennsylvania Lottery:
The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state Lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception 33 years ago, the Lottery has contributed more than $14.6 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free and reduced-fare transit; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including 650 full- and part-time senior centers throughout Pennsylvania. The Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. Players must be 18 or older.

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Lottery media release.

Minnesota State Lottery Reminds Players to Be Alert to Lottery Scams

MINNESOTA, USA (March 2005) --The Minnesota State Lottery reminds its players and the public that there are many scams taking place across Minnesota and the rest of the country, some that are lottery-related.

Some of these scam artists tell recipients they have won a lottery prize in a foreign lottery, such as Spain’s "El Gordo" lottery, and attempt to get personal information in return. Some contact lottery prize winners and tell them they owe additional taxes.

"People should never send money or personal information by e-mail, the phone, wire transfer or any other means to anyone in an effort to collect promised ‘winnings,’" said Lottery Executive Director Clint Harris. "All Minnesota State Lottery prizes are paid after a player presents a winning ticket for validation at Lottery headquarters or at one of our 3,000 lottery retailers statewide."

A legitimate lottery does not ask for taxes to be paid before a prize is claimed. The Minnesota State Lottery will withhold a certain percent of a prize if required by law (i.e., tax withholding or a debt owed to the state) when the prize is claimed.

The Minnesota State Lottery offers the following advice:

• Buy lottery tickets only from authorized Minnesota State Lottery retailers.
• Never give anyone money or bank account information before collecting a lottery prize. The Minnesota State Lottery does not require any payment before collecting a prize.
• Never give your credit card number or bank account information over the phone to anyone claiming you won a prize or attempting to sell you a lottery ticket or membership in a lottery pool.
• Never send a check or wire money to an unfamiliar or foreign business.
• Beware of phone calls or letters from somebody telling you you've won a prize in a foreign lottery or that you owe additional taxes after you have claimed a lottery prize.

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Players should direct tax questions to the Minnesota Department of Revenue at (612) 296-3781 or www.taxes.state.mn.us and to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at (800) 829-1040 or www.irs.ustreas.gov.

Players who receive a foreign lottery offer in the mail should cross off their name and address and write "Forward to Postal Inspector" on the envelope. The envelope should be given to the postal carrier or put in a mail box (no postage is necessary).

For more information or to file a complaint about a lottery scam,
CONTACT:

• the Federal Trade Commission at (877) FTC-HELP or www.ftc.gov/crossborder;
• the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at (651) 293-3200 or www.usps.com/postalinspectors;
• or the Minnesota Attorney General at (651) 296-3353, (800) 657-3787 or www.ag.state.mn.us.

SOURCE: Minnesota Lottery media release.

Lottery Dynamics LLC Announce Its Patent Filing Covering Multiple-Priced Ticketing for a Shared Single Lottery Jackpot Has Been Approved for Issuance by the U.S. Patent Office

IRVING, Texas (March 14, 2005) - Lottery Dynamics LLC announced today that its patent filing covering Multiple-Priced Ticketing for a Shared Single Lottery Jackpot has been approved for issuance by the U.S. Patent Office.

"This patent truly represents a seminal event both for our company and for the lottery industry," said Lottery Dynamics chairman and CEO Robert Wright.

"This patent clearly demonstrates the uniqueness of our offerings as multiple-priced ticketing within a single lottery drawing is the core of our Lotto Gold+™ programs," Wright said. "And most importantly, this will help worldwide lotteries in their efforts to re-energize Lotto and on-line sales by allowing them to move away from the decades-old single $1.00, 1.00€, £1.00, etc. - priced ticket. Now they can capture for Lotto, their core game, the momentum and desire by players everywhere for multiple-priced games as exhibited in the instant game arena."

Wright noted that the huge success of instant games, based on a variety of multiple ticket price points, is a clear example of the dynamic growth that player choice can bring to a maturing industry. Similarly, overall casino profitability and slot machine play was revolutionized when that industry moved from single to multiple-coin play.

"Player choice is the number one feature driving the gaming industry and its lottery segment today and this patent positions Lottery Dynamics to lead the evolution of Lotto and on-line sales into a more exciting, consumer-driven format," said Wright.

Lottery Dynamics Lotto Gold+™ program provides a multiple-priced ticket structure of $1.00, $2.00 and $3.00 tickets playing for fixed percentages of a pooled progressive single jackpot. Additionally, through a transfer of jackpot risk from the issuing lotteries to Lottery Dynamics and its strategic partners, starting jackpots can be raised three-to-four times current levels to promote player demand for every draw. Combined with other proprietary features, Lotto Gold+™ provides the potential to increase annual profits by 40%-100% for any jurisdiction, any matrix and any currency.

SOURCE: Lottery Dynamics LLC media release.
For more information CONTACT: Karen Lazarovic, VP Corporate Communications, Email: klazarovic@lotterydynamics.com.

New Director Appointments at Lotterywest

PERTH, Western Australia (March 17, 2005) -- Lorraine Driscoll has been appointed to the position of Director, Strategic & Financial Management Services at Lotterywest. Ms Driscoll has been with Lotterywest since 1997, after emigrating from Ireland where she was the Financial Controller of The Body Shop for four years.

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She has worked in a number of roles within the financial and business analysis areas of Lotterywest, most recently acting as Director of Corporate & Financial Services for the past 12 months. Mrs Driscoll is also the Secretary to the Asia Pacific Lottery Association, in which Lotterywest is a member.

Graham Lewis recently joined Lotterywest in the role of Director, Corporate Services. Mr Lewis comes to Lotterywest after 17 years with Landcorp, and has a wide range of experience in the financial arena previously working in chief financial management roles both in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Mr Lewis’ area of responsibility will include management of the financial services, human resources and facilities management of Lotterywest.

SOURCE: Lotterywest.
CONTACT: Angelika Fawcett, Communications Coordinator, Phone: (08) 9340 5227 / 0438 996 884, Email: fawcett_a@lotterywest.wa.gov.au

Pennsylvania Sells $18.7 Million Winning Powerball® Jackpot Ticket
Second Powerball® Jackpot Ticket Sold In Pennsylvania In Eight Weeks

MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania, USA (March 17, 2005) -- One Pennsylvania Powerball® winning ticket matched all five white balls, 11-19-25-38-50, and the red Powerball®, 35, in the Wednesday, March 16, 2005, drawing. The winning ticket is worth $18.7 million.

The winner has 60 days from the date he or she claims a prize to decide between a $18.7 million annuity paid over 29 years or a one-time payment of $10,166,550.04.

The Pennsylvania Lottery encourages the holder of the winning ticket to sign the back of the ticket, contact a financial adviser, and then contact Lottery Headquarters, (717) 986-4720. The prize must be claimed at Lottery headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County. A claim can be filed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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Pennsylvania Lottery officials cannot confirm the identity of the March 16, 2005, Powerball® jackpot winner until the prize has been claimed and the ticket validated. At this time, no claim has been filed.

This is the fourth winning Powerball® jackpot ticket sold in Pennsylvania since the December 8, 2004, drawing and the second winning Powerball® jackpot ticket sold here in the last eight weeks. Pennsylvania sold the lone winning jackpot ticket for the January 22, 2005, Powerball® drawing worth $14,734,333.80 cash.

The Powerball® jackpot returns to an estimated $10 million annuity and an estimated $5.4 million cash prize for the Saturday, March 19, 2005, drawing. Powerball® tickets are sold in 29 participating jurisdictions - 27 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

How to play Powerball®:
To play Powerball®, players pay $1 and select five white balls from the first set of 53 numbers plus a single red ball, the Powerball, from a second set of 42 numbers. Players may select their own numbers using a Powerball® play slip, or they may opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match all five numbers drawn plus the Powerball® number to win the jackpot. There also are eight additional ways for players to win a cash prize.

Powerball® features an option called PowerPlay®.
For an extra $1 per Powerball® play (game), players can multiply their Powerball® prizes by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times the original prize amount for all prizes EXCEPT the jackpot. Prizes can multiply up to $500,000.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Lottery, visit http://www.palottery.com.

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Lottery media release.

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