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Veikkaus' Financial Result on Target For The First Half Of The
Year
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VEIKKAUS, Finland (July 2006) --
Veikkaus' business activities developed
according to plan during the first half of the year. Between January and June,
we attained a turnover of EUR 661.6 million (2.1%). The growth was
significantly limited by the fact that there was one round less in Lotto and
Joker during the period under review this year than during the respective
period in 2005. The turnover of sports games and other draw games increased
during the first half of the year. In contrast, the lotto games and instant
tickets showed a slight downward curve.
In the period between January and
June, Veikkaus posted a financial result of EUR 191.7 million. The comparative
result was EUR 3.4 million, i.e. 1.8% smaller than that of the respective
period in 2005.
Veikkaus paid out a total of EUR
346.7 million (+3.4%) to the players. The retailer commissions amounted to EUR
39.0 million, i.e. 2.4% less than during the same period in the previous
year.
Prospects 2006
The return objective of Veikkaus
funds determined in the State Budget of 2006 is EUR 387.2 million. Further, we
have agreed to return EUR 14.0 million of funds collected in the contingency
fund during the previous years to the Ministry of Education, to be distributed
for the benefit of arts, science, sports and youth work. Thus, our contribution
to the State in 2006 will total EUR 401.2 million. Veikkaus' financial
development during the first half of the year indicates that this year's return
objective can be attained.
SOURCE: Veikkaus' eNews distributed
by Veikkaus Communications.
Atlantic Lottery Turns Thirty
MONCTON, New Brunswick, Canada
(September 1, 2006) -- Thirty years ago, Matsushita introduced the first VHS
home video cassette recorder. “Rocky”, the movie, was number
one both at the box office and at the Annual Academy Awards. That same year,
while Canadians rocked out to the sounds of the Bay City Rollers
“Saturday Night”, Bono and The Edge formed a band called U2.
And, in the world of sports, over one billon viewers watched worldwide as Nadia
Comaneci scored a perfect 10 at the Olympics Games in Montreal.
Meanwhile, on September 3, 1976
representatives from the four Atlantic provinces came together to form the
Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) to
market and manage gaming activities on their behalf. From its first major
prize of $50,000 to its most recent jackpot win of $1,000,000, ALC, Atlantic
Lottery, or even Atlantic Lotto as it was referred to back in the 70’s,
has awarded over $4.8 billion in prizes to winners.
“There were probably 90 of
us working at ALC back then. I was 21 years old and looking for something new
and it was a really exciting time. I’ve been here since then and
while things have certainly changed in Atlantic Canada, and at Atlantic
Lottery, some things haven’t changed - we still have great people here,
dedicated and energetic people who enjoy what they do,” says Maurice
Richard, a 30-year employee of ALC.
Every penny of ALC’s profit,
$5.1 billion since 1976, has been returned to the region through Atlantic
Canada’s provincial government to help fund essential programs and
services such as healthcare and education.
“It’s just a start for
ALC. We obviously face many challenges as we look to the future - unregulated
gaming on the internet is one example. We need to protect our players and
offer them regulated environments that promote responsibility and keep revenues
in our own backyard,” says Michelle Carinci, President and CEO.
“We’re ready and committed to raising our game to ensure the
success of the next thirty years.”
ALC has been contributing to
Atlantic Canada’s economy and way of life since it was founded in 1976. It
develops and markets responsible gaming entertainment products for the
financial benefit of Atlantic Canadians.
For more information on ALC’s
30th anniversary, visit www.alc.ca.
SOURCE: Atlantic Lottery
Corporation.
For further information CONTACT: Tracey Suley, Corporate Brand
Manager, Toll-free:1-800-561-3942.
"Straight Back Bonus" Returns To Daily
Games
LANSING, Michigan (September 1,
2006) - Straight Back Bonus is back! Fans of the
Michigan Lottery's Daily 3 and Daily 4
games can double their chances of winning with the new Straight Back Bonus
promotion being offered Sept. 4 through Sept. 24. The promotion was
offered earlier this year and is back by popular demand.
Straight bet players who match their
numbers to the drawn number, "straight back" in reverse order, will win
a bonus payout. For example, if a person plays a straight bet with the
numbers 2-4-6 and the Lottery draws 6-4-2, that player wins $100 if the wager
was $1 and $50 if the wager was 50-cents.
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A straight bet is one in which the
player is betting that the Lottery will draw the numbers in the exact order
that he or she has. Boxed and 2-way bets are not eligible for the
promotion. Wheeled bets will be eligible for the straight prize only, not
the reverse prize.
Straight Back Bonus applies only to
evening Daily 3 and 4 drawings.
"When we offered this promotion in
March, it was extremely popular with our Daily 3 and 4 players," said Lottery
Commissioner Gary Peters. "We're happy to offer this promotion, which
essentially doubles the chances for our loyal Daily game straight-bet players
to win cash in their favorite games."
The Daily 3 and Daily 4 are the
Lottery's most popular games. In fiscal year 2005, Daily games accounted
for 34 percent, or $712.6 million, in Lottery ticket sales.
All proceeds from the Lottery are
contributed to the state School Aid Fund which supports kindergarten through
12th grade public education in Michigan. In fiscal year 2005, the
contribution was $667.6 million.
For additional information, please
visit the Lottery's Web site at: www.michigan.gov/lottery
SOURCE: Michigan
Lottery.
CONTACT: Andrea Brancato (517) 335-5648.
Kansas Lottery Re-Orders OGT’s John Wayne® And Beetle
Bailey® Lottery Tickets
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, USA (August 29,
2006) - Kansas Lottery players have come
out in force to support the Lottery’s John Wayne® and Beetle
Bailey® games, prompting a reorder of both games from
OGT. The Kansas Lottery originally
launched the OGT licensed games as a perfect way to honor the men and women who
have served in the U.S. Armed Forces; the games were so successful, the Lottery
had to quickly re-order both products only a few weeks after their original
launch. The reorders feature fresh artwork from the archives of John Wayne®
and Beetle Bailey®.
“The initial sales for
the Beetle Bailey® and John Wayne® games have exceeded our expectations
and reinforce the positive feedback we have received from the public,”
said Ed Van Petten, Executive
Director of the Kansas Lottery. “It’s great that we are able to
use two classic patriotic icons, Beetle Bailey and John Wayne, to commemorate
and benefit our Veterans.”
OGT has the rights to both John
Wayne® and Beetle Bailey® in the lottery industry. Both licensed
properties have proven themselves outside the lottery industry, and are
garnering equal success and popularity with lottery consumers.
Throughout his career, John Wayne
appeared in over 175 movies and has always been listed on the Top Ten List of
the Harris Poll for America’s Favorite Movie Stars. With an amazing 50
year career, his lifetime accomplishments included numerous awards and honors
such as an Oscar, a Golden Globes, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars highest
award - The National Americanism Gold Medal. Posthumously, John Wayne was
awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Today, John Wayne has been immortalized through a USA commemorative stamp,
countless statues, an Army RAH-66 Helicopter, and a commercial airport. He
still holds the record for most leading roles by an actor.
Started in 1950, Beetle Bailey®
is among the longest-running comic strips ever and still produced by its
original creator, Mort Walker. During the Korean War, in 1951, Walker decided
to enlist Beetle Bailey in the army, and circulation climbed dramatically.
Today, Beetle Bailey® is syndicated by King Features to more than 1,800
newspapers around the globe. It has become the third most widely distributed
comic strip of all time, and delights more than 200 million readers each day.
And, although he’s still lazy after all these years, the work-shirking
Army private has racked up consistently high ratings in newspaper comics polls
and enjoys a 74% familiarity rating among adults. Mort Walker, a World War II
veteran, was honored in year 2000 by the United States Army with The Decoration
for Distinguished Civilian Service, the highest award the Secretary of the Army
can bestow on a civilian. Walker returned the salute by quipping that his Army
experience gave him the basic training for a lifetime of lampooning.
About Wayne Enterprises
John Wayne®,(signature)® and
DUKE® are registered trademarks of Wayne Enterprises. The name, image, and
likeness of John Wayne and all related indicia are intellectual property of
Wayne Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
www.wayneenterprises.com
About King Features
Syndicate
King Features Syndicate is a member
of Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group, which combines The Hearst
Corporation’s cable network partnerships, television programming
activities, and newspaper syndication and merchandise licensing operations.
King Features is the world’s premier distributor of comics, columns,
editorial cartoons, puzzles and games, distributing some 150 features to nearly
5,000 newspapers around the globe. It is one of the largest and most
experienced organizations in merchandising licensing. Among its most beloved
and successful classic characters are “Popeye,” “Betty
Boop,” “Blondie,” “Beetle Bailey” and “Dennis the
Menace.” In recent years, the company has diversified and now represents
properties such as the trendy apparel and accessory brands, David & Goliath
and Chat Gurlz; the publicly displayed, life-size art sculptures GuitarMania
and The Trail of Painted Ponies; and the conscientious-living brand,
“Mutts.”
SOURCE: Lyse Trudel, Communications
Officer, Oberthur Gaming Technologies, (+1-514) 254-3600, ext.
101.
INFORMATION: Liz Johnson, New Business Coordinator, Oberthur Gaming
Technologies – USA, (+1-210) 509-9999, ext. 119.
Texas Hold 'Em Locations Now Available on the
Internet
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LANSING, Michigan, USA (August 31,
2006) - Texas Hold 'Em fans, take note!
The
Michigan Lottery's Charitable Gaming
Division has created a link on its Web site that allows card players to search
for Texas Hold 'Em and other licensed millionaire parties around the
state. It's as simple as going to www.michigan.gov/cg and clicking on the
Millionaire Party Locator link.
"Texas Hold 'Em's popularity has
provided Michigan's nonprofit organizations with a proven means of generating
much needed revenue," Lottery Commissioner
Gary Peters said. "Players
often contact the Lottery's Charitable Gaming Division for information about
what is available in their area, and the new Web link will make it easy for
them to access that information any time."
Charitable gaming is a critical
component in Michigan's nonprofit community. In fiscal year 2005,
qualified organizations netted over $76 million, Peters said.
"With the challenges of higher
unemployment, cuts in government funding at all levels and national disasters
that are funneling away contributions that might otherwise benefit Michigan
communities, it is more important than ever that charitable gaming remains
healthy in Michigan," Peters said.
In addition to the Millionaire Party
Locator link, players can find information about all aspects of charitable
gaming at www.michigan.gov/cg
SOURCE: Michigan
Lottery.
CONTACT: Andi Brancato (517) 335-5648.
All Spanish League Division One Matches Available At Singapore
Pools
SINGAPORE (August 28, 2006) -- In
the coming Spanish League season, football punters will be able to bet on all
Division One matches of the League. Hitherto, only selected matches were
available for betting
The sale of bets on the new Spanish
League season starts at 8am on 25 August 2006 for the matches played on the
opening day, 26 August 2006. Customers may place bets at the Singapore Pools
counters located all across the island or through the Phone Betting service
‘PoolzConnect’ (Tel: 67866688).
Singapore Pools Spanish League handy
guides are available free to customers who wish to know more about the Spanish
League and the 20 teams in Division One. This is to help them make informed
decisions when placing a bet.
We take this opportunity to thank
customers for choosing to bet legally with Singapore Pools and encourage them
to bet responsibly.
About Singapore Pools
Singapore Pools is Singapore’s legal
gaming operator. The company was set up on 23 May 1968 by the Singapore
Government in a bid to curb illegal gambling activities and to channel proceeds
of legal gaming operations to community benefit. Today, Singapore Pools acts as
the agent for the totalisator, lottery and football betting products of the
Singapore Totalisator Board, a statutory board under the Ministry of
Finance.
More details on the bet types and
opening odds are available on the website
www.singaporepools.com.sg.
For media queries, please contact:
Ms Ho Whei Chern, Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications, DID: 6216
8720 HP: 9879 2192, E-mail: HoWheiChern@sgpoolz.com.sg or Mr.
Andrew Chew, Executive Officer, Corporate Communications, DID: 6216 8715,
E-mail: AndrewChew@sgpoolz.com.sg
SOURCE: Singapore Pools (Private)
Ltd.
Decision Of The Federal Cartel Office Has Torpedoed The National Task
Of The German Lotto und Totoblock (DLTB)
- Reproaches and decision of the Federal
Cartel Office miss the actual point
- The Cartel Office flies in the face of the
jurisprudence of the highest court in Germany
- DLTB has lodged a complaint
POTSDAM, Germany (August 28, 2006)
-- The German Lotto und Totoblock companies reject the reproaches and the
resulting prohibiting decisions by the Federal Cartel Office as lacking in
substance. From the viewpoint of the DLTB, the content of the decisions today
issued by the Federal Cartel Office to prohibit the three complexes are in no
way comprehensible.
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"With these decisions, the Cartel
Office not only disregards the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, but also
ignores the function legally conferred on the Lottery companies", said Dr.
Horst Mentrup, Managing Director of Lotto Brandenburg and Director of the DLTB.
"The Cartel Office wants to force the German Lotto und Totoblock companies
to compete with one another and, moreover, to support private providers in
developing their own betting outlet networks. Both of these will heat up the
gambling market in Germany. The aim of the Cartel Office is thereby in clear
contradiction to the judgement of the Federal Constitutional Court, which in
its decision on the sports betting monopoly expressly stresses that a gambling
provider must primarily aim to prevent gambling addiction".
"We will continue to fulfil our
national duty and will meet our responsibility according to our instructions.
If we were to behave as the Federal Cartel Office desires, we would have not
only to ignore the Federal Constitutional Court and the decision of the Prime
Ministers’ conference, but also to implement the concept of the rules of
competition held by the Cartel Office at the expense of gambling addicts. But
we have decided to continue to implement meaningful gambling addiction
prevention in Germany", says Mentrup.
"Our task, according to the
regulations, is to combat gambling addiction and to channel the gambling craze.
It cannot be right that competition law should lead to addiction-prone gamblers
now being exposed to the aggressive selling methods and annoying telephone
marketing and mailing onslaughts of the private gambling providers. We feel
that our view has been confirmed by the supreme jurisprudence of the Federal
Constitutional Court and the decision of the Prime Ministers’
conference", said Dr. Horst Mentrup.
The judgement of the Federal
Constitutional Court of 28.03.2006 expressly declared the national
sports-betting monopoly to be constitutionally permissible and the prevention
of gambling addiction to be the most important task the monopoly has. Besides,
the Prime Ministers, at their meeting of 22.06.2006, declared that they
considered the lottery and sports-betting monopoly "necessary and suitable",
for channelling and combating gambling addiction in Germany.
Likewise, the regionality principle
attacked by the Federal Cartel Office was precisely confirmed by the decision
of the Federal Administrative Court of 21.06.2006.
Apart from these general objections
to the arguments of the Federal Cartel Office, the DLTB considers the content
of the three prohibitory decisions wrong.
The allegation by the Federal Cartel
Office that the DLTB had called for a boycott of commercial gambling providers
is untrue. Neither did the regional Lotto companies within the DLTB call for a
boycott of commercial gambling providers, nor did individual companies take any
competition-limiting measures against commercial gambling providers. It would
appear that the Cartel Office bases this reproach on the fact that individual
Lotto companies terminated or limited their contractual relations with
commercial gambling providers. But that was done for individual economic and
legal reasons.
Furthermore, the Cartel Office
forbids the regional lottery companies to restrict their activities to one
single Land of the Federal Republic. This so-called regionality principle is
however embodied by the legislator in a State Convention. The individual
regional companies are bound by this convention and are punishable if they do
not abide by these legal requirements. The result of this prohibition throws a
central principle of the federal constitution into question.
The decision by the Cartel Office
concerning the obligations to report as embodied in the Regionalisation
Convention is likewise incomprehensible from the viewpoint of the DLTB. The
Regionalisation Convention ensures that the regulation standards are also
applied to the commercial provision of gambling. The reproached behaviour, for
example the reporting of commercial pools to the responsible Land of the
Federal Republic, is contained in the State Convention and is thus the legal
basis for the Lottery companies. The prohibition by the Cartel Office would
require the companies to breach the State Convention and take the legal
consequences under the regulations.
The DLTB has immediately taken legal
action against the decisions of the Federal Cartel Office. "I am sure that
the decisions of the Federal Cartel Office, taken exclusively from the
standpoint of competition law, will not stand up before a court. In the final
analysis, the Böge decision will lead to the uprooting of the regulatory
foundations and federal structure of Germany. It utterly disregards the
decisions of the highest legal and political authorities" said Dr. Horst
Mentrup.
The DLTB has immediately lodged a
complaint against the orders of the Federal Cartel Office with the Cartel
Division of the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf.
Press contact: David Bachmann, CNC -
Communications & Network Consulting AG
Tel: +49 (0)172-899 62 63, Email:
David.Bachmann@cnc-communications.com.
ESI Closes Contracts valued at US $1.4 Million with INTRALOT for the
Malaysian, Taiwanese and Idaho Government Lotteries
BURNABY, BC, Canada (September 4,
2006) -- ESI Enterttainment Services Inc. (TSX:ESY) today announced that its
subsidiary, ESI Integrity Inc., has entered into agreements with
INTRALOT S.A., a leading global supplier
of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems to game organizations
worldwide, to supply its industry-leading Integrity Independent Control System
(ICS) to the Magnum 4D Lottery (Malaysia),
the Public Welfare Lottery of Taiwan, and
the Idaho State Lottery.
The Integrity license agreements
plus related services are cumulatively valued at approximately US $1.4 million
over contract terms of six to eight years. These agreements represent an
important step in ESI Integrity’s continued strategic expansion into the
regulated international gaming markets while also maintaining its strong
presence in the US government lottery sector.
Currently, Integrity Independent
Monitoring solutions monitor billions of dollars in annual wagering revenues
for lottery and pari-mutuel organizations in North America, South America,
Europe, Asia, and Africa. The INTRALOT S.A. partnership and the implementation
of the Integrity system for Malaysia and Taiwan expands ESI Integrity into the
rapidly growing European and Asian markets.
“We are very excited about
supporting INTRALOT with our industry-leading ICS solutions for their rapidly
growing customer base,” said Michael Meeks, President of ESI
Integrity. “The partnership endorses ESI Integrity as a global provider
of real-time transactional monitoring and auditing solutions for regulated
gaming operators.”
Constantinos Farris, General
Technical Director of INTRALOT S.A. commented, “INTRALOT wanted to
partner with an industry-leading technology provider that would be capable of
providing the highest levels of assurance to our customers. ESI Integrity, with
their expertise and proven track-record, easily fulfilled our objective of
offering a best-of-breed partner.”
Under the terms of the agreement the
ESI Integrity system will provide continuous monitoring of the lottery’s
wagering transactions, providing an independent, real-time audit of the wagers
and prize calculations. In addition, ESI Integrity will administer product
release updates and supply 24/7 technical support to the lotteries.
About ESI Entertainment Systems
Inc.
ESI Entertainment Systems Inc. is a
public company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ESY). Its
wholly owned subsidiary, Citadel Commerce Corp., is recognized as a leading
provider of secure and efficient payment processing services to the
international online gaming industry.
About ESI Integrity Inc. (www.esiintegrity.com)
ESI Integrity Inc. is the leading
supplier of independent software for Security and Risk Management in gaming.
The ESI Integrity Continuous Monitoring System provides independent real-time
monitoring of lottery and pari-mutuel gaming auditing billions of
dollars of gaming world-wide every year. ESI Integrity is currently servicing
over 35 lotteries and pari-mutuel wagering sites, spanning North America, South
America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
About INTRALOT (www.intralot.com)
INTRALOT, a public company listed on
the Athens Stock Exchange, is a leading supplier of integrated gaming and
transaction processing systems, innovative game content and value added
services to state-licensed gaming organizations worldwide. Its broad portfolio
of products & services, its know-how of Lottery, Betting & Video
Lottery operations, its experience in sports games and its leading-edge
technology give INTRALOT a competitive advantage, which contributes directly to
customers’ efficiency, profitability and growth. INTRALOT’s footprint
straddles five continents with 37 subsidiaries, 8 business offices, 3,000
people and revenues of € 523 million for 2005 and €700 for 2006.
SOURCE: ESI Integrity
Inc.
CONTACT: Dan Parmar, Chief Financial Officer. Telephone: +1 604 299
6922 ext 375, Email: dparmar@esi.ca
MDI’s “Deal or No Deal” Count Jumps to
Thirteen
ALPHARETTA, Georgia, USA (September
5, 2006) -- With the mega-hit "Deal or No Deal" game show set to launch
this month, 13 North American Lotteries are now producing, or have already
printed, instant tickets to cash in on the popularity of the show.
In just the past two weeks, two more
Lotteries have planned on launching the game between now and immediately after
the holiday season. "Deal or No Deal" is offered to lotteries
exclusively through MDI Entertainment, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific Games
Corporation. MDI announced its agreement with the show's production
company, Endemol International on June 23.
In breaking into its second season,
"Deal or No Deal" plans to run the first four episodes in its first week
beginning September 18, with a top potential prize of $6 million. Network
advertising for the new season is prevalent throughout all NBC television day
parts.
"'Deal or No Deal' is going
to hit the top of the charts early and easily maintain its ranking through the
spring," said Steve Saferin, MDI president. "More than one-fourth of North
American Lotteries are running the game and we highly encourage other Lotteries
to do the same. This is a unique opportunity for Lotteries to tap into a new
player base."
"Deal or No Deal" was the
surprise hit of the last television season, consistently ranking #1 for its
time period in adults 18-49, rivalling that of only American Idol, another MDI
licensed property. To date, "Deal or No Deal" has been produced in over
40 countries. The top prize won in the first season was $464,000 but that's
about to change.
Comedian host Howie Mandel indicated
in a recent press conference that a much higher amount has already been won in
episodes he's taped that have yet to air.
"We're proud to be able to offer
this opportunity to Lotteries and based on the overwhelming response we've
seen, we're actively looking for future games and pop culture trends like 'Deal
or No Deal' to help our clients with what they're looking for…a new
generation of players," Saferin said.
About Scientific Games
Scientific Games Corporation is the
leading integrated supplier of instant tickets, systems and services to
lotteries, a leading supplier of fixed odds betting terminals and systems,
interactive sports betting terminals and systems, and wagering systems and
services to pari-mutuel operators. It is also a licensed pari-mutuel gaming
operator in Connecticut and the Netherlands and is a leading supplier of
prepaid phone cards to telephone companies. Scientific Games' customers are in
the United States and more than 60 other countries. For more information about
Scientific Games, please visit our web site at
http://www.scientificgames.com.
SOURCE: MDI
Entertainment.
CONTACT: Jeff Schweig, Phone: 678-297-5212.
Tattersall's Responds to Victorian Lottery Licence
Process
MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia
(September 7, 2006) -- Tattersall’s
wishes to respond to media speculation concerning a delay in the Victorian
lottery licensing process.
It has been reported that there is a
delay in the process because of undisclosed probity concerns.
If there is a delay because of this
reason, Tattersall’s cannot be the subject of such concerns.
As the incumbent Tattersall’s
is subject to ongoing probity monitoring which requires the Company and its key
personnel to maintain probity clearance at all times.
If there is any delay, the effect on
timing is a matter for the Victorian Government.
SOURCE: Tattersall’s. Further
Information: Michael Mangos, Manager, External Communications, Phone: 0419 551
980.
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