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GTECH G2 Thought Leadership Seminar
European iGaming
Legislation Debate
GTECH G2 hosted a
breakfast debate on the harmonization of European igaming
legislation
Operators and Regulators Thrash It Out at GTECH G2
Thought Leadership Debate
on European iGaming Legislation
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (January 4, 2010)
– A capacity crowd of operators, regulators and industry observers
gathered in London last month to discuss European iGaming legislation as a
panel of legal experts and regulators from France, Italy, Malta and the UK
debated the merits of the possible creation of an EU regulatory framework among
the 27 EU jurisdictions versus the merits of purely State controlled igaming
regulation. The event was hosted by GTECH G2, the igaming division of lottery
industry giant GTECH.
“It’s clear that
regulatory change will possibly be the greatest influence on shaping the online
gaming sector over the next few years - this is why we decided to host this
seminar on the topic of regulation.” said Leigh Nissim, Commercial
Director, GTECH G2. “As a highly regulated entity with over 200 gaming
licences world-wide, GTECH embraces these changes and we’re keen to work
with our customers to maximize the opportunities that that regulation
presents.”
Chaired by Robin Le Prevost of the
States of Alderney, the debate was lively and insightful.
“In the current state of
discussions and EU law, 27 member states have more or less 27 different
conceptions of gaming and it’s just as simple as that,” said
Debate Panelist Momtchil Monov, Associate, Ulys Law Firm. “When you
speak to the Poles, when you speak to the Bulgarians, when you speak to the
French, they don’t share the same views. I would say a mutually
satisfactory compromise is not that easy. Negotiations are very
difficult.”
The debate posed five resolutions to
a panel of pro-European legislative harmonization representatives and then
posed the same question to a panel of representatives who favour exclusivity
for State-regulated gaming markets. Depending on the panel’s view of the
resolution, they had five minutes to either argue an affirmative or negative
point of view on the resolution posed. This was the first time these issues had
been discussed in a structured debate format.
Posing the argument in favor of
State-controlled igaming legislation were Quirino Mancini and Momtchil Monov.
Representing the argument for the European harmonization and mutual recognition
of iGaming legislation were Dr. Trevor De Giorgio, Dr. Joseph Borg and Tom
Lippiet. GTECH G2 thanks its esteemed guests for their participation in the
debate.
“The purpose of this debate
was not to resolve issues, but to open our eyes to both sides of the
argument,” said event moderator Michael Caselli. “And I think
we did a great job on opening up our eyes to both the State controlled
initiatives and the EU wide regulatory initiatives.”
GTECH G2’s next Thought
Leadership Seminar will be announced in early 2010.
For further information: GTECH G2,
Larry Colcy, +44 (0) 207 976 6469, Email: G2@lyceummedia.com
About GTECH G2 (www.gtechg2.com)
GTECH G2 brings together -- under
one brand -- the combined expertise of GTECH and its extensive lottery insight
with leaders in the interactive gaming world providing a complete gaming
portfolio of poker, bingo, casino, sportsbetting, fully managed services and
instant games. The group includes Boss Media (www.bossmedia.com), a leading
innovator in software and systems for Poker, Casino and Bingo entertainment;
Finsoft (www.finsoft.com), a leading provider of enterprise-wide real time
trading solutions for the commercial sports betting industry – both
interactive and retail; St Minver (www.stminverltd.com), a fully managed
service provider of Internet games to media, lifestyle, and other brands; and
Dynamite Idea (www.dynamiteidea.com), a developer of unique, innovative digital
instant and side games. Consolidating combined talent and expertise into one
premiere brand means that GTECH G2 can provide a flexible digital solution to
all customers, large or small, wherever they may be.
BACKGROUND
GTECH G2 invited speakers who are in
favour of igaming law harmonization across Europe and who are for state
controlled igaming legislation. iGaming business media and industry observers
posed questions.
This modified Lincoln-Douglas-style
debate presented arguments for European Union harmonized iGaming policy and for
State controlled iGaming policy. This highly charged topic has been raised in
Brussels lately following the controversial Santa Casa decision which seems, to
some, a reversal in the EU’s approach to iGaming.
Breakfast and networking started at
10am with the Debate starting at 10:45 am following an introduction by the
Moderator and a summary on DCMS in relation to the revision of UK gambling
laws.
The GTECH G2 Executive Debate Series
was organized by Lyceum Media on behalf of GTECH G2.
For further information please
CONTACT: Jodie Thind, events@lyceummedia.com, +44 (0)207 976
6469.
Click
here to View video excerpts from this event on YouTube.
Click here to view photos from
this event.
adesso Wins European-Wide Tender of Agrarmarkt Austria in the amount
of EUR 6 million
The know-how of its
software developers makes adesso the favoured partner
| Advertisement |
 |
DORTMUND, Germany (January 7, 2010)
- adesso Austria GmbH will be the exclusive software
development partner of Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA), Vienna, for another period of
five years. adesso won the European-wide tender of the Austrian federal
organisation and pay office responsible for market regulations and market
interventions. The order value amounts to EUR 6 million. This is an important
basis for the further development of adesso’s business activities in
Austria.
Within the public sector Agrarmarkt
Austria is responsible for all agricultural matters, including e.g. the central
market and price reporting, the regulation of milk quota, licensing issues as
well as the handling of efficiency payments, grant programmes and compensation
payments. The software and database systems of AMA require processes that are
designed flexibly and subject-specifically. The AMA systems support more than
100 different grant programmes for which numerous new rules have to be
implemented yearly.
The required developments related to
these programmes provide the basis for a reliable recording and processing of
grant proposals.
About adesso AG (www.adesso.de/en/)
With more than 550 members of staff
and eight headquarters, adesso is one of the leading IT service providers in
the German-speaking regions. The core business processes of the customers
manifest the focus of consultancy and software development of adesso. These
processes which are important for business success are becoming ever more
flexible and productive by the clever implementation of information
technology.
adesso customers, who are mainly large and medium-sized
businesses, appreciate the long-term experience of the consultants and software
developers resulting from complex and often international tasks. adesso also
offers fixed prices for software development projects which are of a
large-scale nature, thus granting customers financial security. adesso very
much puts an emphasis on members of staff with an entrepreneurial spirit who
act with a high degree of communicative competence and who know about and
master the special tasks of the customers in their respective branches. Their
corporate culture is characterized by transparency, also in the context of
internal communication, and by members of staff who strongly identify
themselves with adesso.
adesso was founded in Dortmund in
1997. The share is listed on the regulated market.
Some of the most important customers
of the subsidiary adesso Austria GmbH are Agrarmarkt Austria,
Steiermärkische Landesregierung and Versicherungsanstalt öffentlich
Bediensteter.
CONTACT: adesso AG, Manuela Gruhn, ,
T: +49 (0) 231 930-9232, F: +49 (0) 231 930-9331, M: +49 (0) 178 2808032,
Email: manuela.gruhn@adesso.de
SOURCE: adesso AG.
Pick 3 Players “Break The Bank” as Triple Sixes Hit
in Monday’s Drawing
RICHMOND, Virginia (January 5, 2010)
- Some people say that good things come in “3’s.” That was
certainly the case for Virginia Lottery Pick 3 players in the January 4, 2010,
night drawing, when the triple combination 6-6-6 was drawn. Every player who
wagered $1.00 on 6-6-6 won $500.
Players wagered a total of $344,764
for the drawing and they won a total of $1,384,300.
Triple numbers in the Pick 3 game
are always some of the most popular. The combination of triple 6’s has
been drawn 16 times since the Pick 3 game began in May 1989. The last time it
was drawn before Saturday’s drawing was August 24, 2008.
Pick 3 drawings are held daily at
1:59 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The chances of matching all three numbers in exact
order are 1 in 1,000.
Nearly 95 cents of each dollar spent
on the Virginia Lottery by players goes back to the Commonwealth in the form of
contributions to education, prizes and retailer commissions. Since 1999, all
Virginia Lottery profits have been designated solely to K-12 public school
education in the Commonwealth. In that time, the Lottery has turned over more
than $4 billion for Virginia’s public schools. The latest annual profits
of $439.1 million currently represent about 7 percent of state funding for
public education in Virginia. In 21 years, the Lottery has sold more than $21.1
billion in tickets, awarded more than $1.1 billion in retailer commissions and
paid more than $11.6 billion in prizes to players.
Follow the Virginia Lottery on
Facebook and Twitter. Please play responsibly.
SOURCE: Virginia Lottery.
WORLD MEET 2009: A Great Experience of Work and
Friendship
La Corporacion
Iberoamericana de Loterias y Apuestas (CIBELAE) is Willing to Create in 2010 an
Iberoamerican Lottery
Finally, 430 delegates
arrived at Santiago, Chile from the North and the South, the East and the West;
from Ghana, Philipines, China, Salvador, Argentina or Russia.
Article By: By Eliana
Jimenez
SANTIAGO, Chile (December 2009) --
What was the motivation for travelling so many hours to assist to the four-day
Annual Congress of WLA or the XII Cibelae Convention? “I think it was
an attractive meeting, particularly for Latinamerican people. We worked
very hard for having a succesful meeting,” Veronica Montellano said,
the president of the Board of
Polla Chilena de
Beneficencia, the host entity of this worldwide lottery encounter.
 |
| Edmund
Dupre, CEO of Charity Polla Chilena, Arch Gleason, chairman of the WLA, Roberto
Armando López, CIBELAE new president-elect at the meeting in Santiago,
Chile; Verónica Montellano, board president of the host, Polla Chilena
de Charities. |
From last 26th to 29th October, the
members of WLA and Cibelae, an
industry which globally moved US $ 227,3 billions of dollars in 2008,
(according to Almanaque La Fleur), for the first time in Latin-America shared
their experiences, adopted a fresh approach and kew the state-of-the-art
technology.
Under the framework of four key
terms –transparency, social entrepreneur responsibility, guarantee and
entertainment, the directives of both institutions and the local organization
committe, prepared the high level technical program. Outstanding Chilean
speakers and representatives of different countries and cultures delivered
their views on the most interesting topics for the industry and the assisting
delegates.
“I think it is clear for the
lotteries of the region that the lotteries which are gathered in Cibelae should
assume that their games and their contents should be technologically lined
up. This is a challenge for the companies that provide systems and
technologies; market strategies and services, that allow our companies to grow
year by year,” Montellano states.
General Assembly and the new
board of Cibelae
The Board of Directors of the
Company, formed by the lotteries of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica,
Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Portugal, Puerto
Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela, appointed the new directors
and the president of Cibelae, who will be in the position for the next two
years. The president of ALEA,
and the holder of Lotería Nacional Sociedad del Estado, Argentina,
the accountant Roberto Armando Lopez, thanked all the lotteries of the
Corporation for the support, the technicians of the National Lottery and all
the people who collaborated in the appointment.
The organizations members of the
Iberoamerican Corporation held a great number of meetings during the days of
the Assembly and several far reaching agreements were reached. Among them we
highlight the intention protocol for mutual collaboration in the development of
new products and projects, agreed upon by the lotteries of Mexico and
Spain.
Within the framework of this
agreement celebration, the directives of both institutions announced some news
to the mass media. The director of the National Lottery of Mexico, Benjamin
Gonzalez Roaro, announced through an interview with the agency Notimex- that
Cibelae is willing to create in 2010 an Iberoamerican Lottery, on the occasion
of the independente 200 anniversary celebrated by several countries of the
region. Gonzalez Roaro explained that "it is possible that this
Lottery of the Bicentennial could be a first experience to install a more
permanent Iberoamerican Lottery," although he said that until now "there
are just preliminary talks" on the initiative.
On the other hand, the secretary
general of the Spanish Lottery
LAE, Gonzalo Fernandez said to the Spanish EFE agency: "Latinomillones
would be similar to the renown game of the old continent, that since it was
launched in 2004, it has shared amounts of money and Austria, Belgiun, Spain,
France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, United Kingdom and
Switzerland.”
Additionally, in the General
Assembly of Cibelae, the book “Good Practices within the Management of
the Lotteries” from Cibelae’s Virtual Community of Processes was
presented and the model of the “Code of Conduct and Social
Responsibility of Lotteries” and the new seminars for 2010 were
presented.
Transcendental contents
The Southern countries observed,
listed to and learnt from the Northern friends, who contributed with their
experience and knowledge, which is inherent to the lotteries members of WLA,
the global authority within the Business of state-owned lotteries, The
delegartes who participated in the different panels promoted a sound defense of
the ethical principles and the compliance with the commitment of the highest
standards of social responsibility of all the companies involved in the gaming
industry.
But also those living under the
Equator line, particularly Chilean professionals, contributed with some
original and interested contents. That was the case of the main speech
lectured by the PhD in Economics, Klaus Schmidt –Hebbel in the opening
meeting of October 27th. His correct view on the causes and his projections of
the worldwide economic crisis allowed a better understanding of the phenomenon
that hit the worldwide economy last year.
Similarly, the speech “Is it
significant to whom the lottery belongs to?” delivered information
about the importance of the institutional framework of the lottery industries
and different experiences were shown. We learnt from other markets such as that
of Tabacco and Telephony in the panel guided by the advertising professional
Enrique García and we knew an study carried out by the School of economy
from the Catholic University of Chile, who showed the attitudes of the Chilean
people subjected to the interview towards the gaming industry and their role
within the market segmentation.
There was also entertainment,
wine and hours of fun.
The sound facilities of the Hyatt
Hotel of Santiago, chile and the warm style of the hosts received the delegates
from the first day of the meeting.
During the opening dinner, the
visitors enjoyed a warm afternoon where they tasted Chilean seafood and
wine. The evening was liven up by the Chilean typical dancing with the
Chilean professional ballet Bafochi who had a complete presentation of the
dances and songs of this Southamerican country.
The day to establish networks was
very successful. There were so many people registered that they should
form two groups that visited Valparaiso port and a vineyard from and towards
the capital city.
The delegates visited the streets of
Cerros Alegre and Concepcion, sightseeing a city which is World Heritage
(UNESCO), where they discovered beautiful suspended house, steep stairs and
narrow little streets which have shaped the history of Valparaiso.
Once in Santiago, the tour stopped
in the Casablanca Valley, a valley of the Andean Mountains featured by a
privileged climate for the cultivation of white grape that grows slowly in the
region, allowing the production of aromatic white wine with a delicate
taste. It was a great opportunity to learn more about viticulture and to
know the plantations that produce the renown Chilean wine in the world.
And the last day, everything was
joy. At the top of San Cristobal hill, from which the city of Santiago is
viewed, the audacious travellers that travelled many hours to arrive to Chile,
said good bye to the new and old friends they made at the World Meet 2009.
It was a great working experience
where the delegates of WLA and Cibelae enjoyed an unforgettable adventure by
knowing Chile, a long and thin country of the “New World”.
To enjoy all the pictures,
click
here:
SOURCE: Polla Chilena de
Beneficiencia S.A.
Feeling Lucky? Win-For-Life With The Florida Lottery’s Newest
Annuity Scratch-Off Game
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (December 30,
2009) - The Florida
Lottery's newest $20 Scratch-Off game, LUCKY $200,000 A YEAR FOR LIFE, goes
on sale Tuesday, January 5, 2010. The game offers 10 prizes of $50,000 a year
for life and 10 prizes of $200,000 a year for life!
The $50,000 and $200,000 annuity
prizes are structured to pay the winner once per year over the course of their
life - whether that's 20 years, 50 years or more. Top-prize winners are
guaranteed payments for at least 20 years, or they may select the one-time,
lump-sum cash option payment.
LUCKY $200,000 A YEAR FOR LIFE
offers more than $450 million* in total prizes. The overall odds of winning a
prize in the game are one in 2.94.
The Florida Lottery offers more than
50 Scratch-Off games at any given time through instant ticket vending machines
(ITVMs) and on-counter displays at more than 13,000 retailers statewide.
Scratch-Off games are an important part of the Lottery's portfolio of games,
making up approximately 53 percent of ticket sales and generating more than
$467 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF) in fiscal year
2008-09.
Florida voters, by a two-to-one
margin, approved a constitutional amendment in 1986 authorizing the state to
operate a lottery for the purpose of generating significant additional moneys
for education. Today, Floridians continue to show their support by purchasing
nearly $4 billion in Lottery products per year, resulting in contributions of
more than $20 billion to the EETF since 1988. For more information regarding
the Florida Lottery, its games and its contributions to education, visit
www.flalottery.com.
CONTACT: Connie Barnes, (850)
487-7727, www.flalottery.com.
SOURCE: Florida Lottery.
SCEL Thanks MegaMatch 6® Players for Support as Game Ends
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (December
30, 2009) – A day after the South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL) ended its MegaMatch
6® game executives applauded players for their support.
"We appreciate each and every one
of our loyal MegaMatch 6® players who purchased MegaMatch 6® tickets,
and in turn, helped support education in our state," said Executive
Director Paula Harper Bethea. "Our players are vitally important. The
decision to end MegaMatch 6® did not come lightly," she added. "We
are a business and we operate as a business, therefore we had to make a
proactive change to our lineup of games," Bethea said.
In November, the Lottery notified
its extensive network of retail partners MegaMatch 6® sales would cease by
year's end. Messages concerning the last drawing and the number of drawings
left were sent repeatedly to the 3,500 plus retailers as the game wound down
and were displayed on their lottery terminals up until the final December 29
drawing. SCEL also conducted focus groups with players and retailers who
confirmed MegaMatch 6® was not a game they play consistently.
Beginning in early December, SCEL
initiated a communication plan that involved a news release, ticket messaging
and draw announcements informing players as the end of MegaMatch 6®
approached.
The Lottery is adding a new game
with greater opportunity to raise funds to be appropriated to education.
Mega Millions®, a
big jackpot multi-state game, is
Mega Millions® is expected to
bring an additional $15 – $22 million each year in transfers to the
Education Lottery Account.
In the meantime, MegaMatch 6®
players holding winning tickets from yesterday's final drawing have 180 days to
claim their prizes. After all valid winning tickets have been claimed and paid,
any remaining funds from the MegaMatch 6® game will be transferred to the
Education Lottery Account and used to support educational initiatives in the
Palmetto State.
SOURCE: SCEL.
Nine Lucky Florida Lottery Players Toast The New Year As New
Millionaires
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (December 31,
2009) -- The Florida
Lottery today held the Holiday MILLIONAIRE RAFFLE™ drawing, randomly
selecting 2,034 winning numbers. Lottery players with the first nine numbers
drawn will each be awarded $1 million. In addition to the nine
one-million-dollar top prizes, the Lottery will also award 10 prizes of
$50,000, 15 prizes of $5,000 and 2,000 prizes of $250.
This year's Holiday MILLIONAIRE
RAFFLE game offered the best odds of winning $1 million among all Lottery games
currently on sale. The $20 tickets went on sale Friday, November 13, and were
available through midnight on Wednesday, December 30. Since not all of the 1
million tickets were sold, only 969,516 tickets were actually entered in the
drawing.
The nine one-million-dollar-winning
ticket numbers and the locations where the tickets were purchased are listed
below. All Holiday MILLIONAIRE RAFFLE winning numbers will be available on the
Florida Lottery Web site after 3 p.m. today. Winning numbers in the top three
prize categories will be available at Florida Lottery retailers statewide.
Winning numbers for the $1 million prizes will also be available by phone at
(850) 921-PLAY (7529).
Holiday MILLIONAIRE RAFFLE prizes
must be claimed within 180 days from the draw date. Players must have their
winning ticket in hand to claim a prize. The $250 prizes may be claimed at any
Florida Lottery retailer and the $5,000 and $50,000 prizes may be claimed at
any Florida Lottery district office. The $1 million prizes must be claimed at
Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. Information about filing a claim may be
obtained by calling (850) 487-7707 or visiting www.flalottery.com.
This year's Holiday MILLIONAIRE
RAFFLE generated approximately $7.5 million in transfers to the Educational
Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF).
Florida voters, by a two-to-one
margin, approved a constitutional amendment in 1986 authorizing the state to
operate a lottery for the purpose of generating significant additional moneys
for education. Today, Floridians continue to show their support by purchasing
nearly $4 billion in Lottery products per year, resulting in contributions of
more than $20 billion to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund since 1988. For
more information regarding the Florida Lottery, its games and its contributions
to education, visit www.flalottery.com
CONTACT: Connie Barnes, (850)
487-7727.
Pennsylvania Lottery's Millionaire Raffle Drawing Creates Four New
Millionaires
MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania (January 2,
2009) -- The Pennsylvania Lottery's Millionaire Raffle has created four new
millionaires. The selection of four $1 million raffle ticket numbers and four
$100,000 raffle ticket numbers was televised live on the Lottery's drawing show
earlier this evening.
The four $1 million top-prize raffle
ticket numbers selected were 00246198, 00481361, 00177933, and 00197968. The
four $100,000 second-prize raffle ticket numbers selected were 00047114,
00327483, 00411539, and 00223419. The remaining 5,992 winning raffle ticket
numbers for third- and fourth-tier prizes were selected, but were not televised
due to time constraints.
Players may check winning numbers
beginning Jan. 3 at www.palottery.com and at retailers. Winning raffle ticket
numbers will be listed on the Lottery Web site by prize category in ascending
order. The Web site will also feature a search function that allows players to
enter their eight-digit raffle ticket numbers to determine if they hold winning
tickets.
To be considered a winning ticket,
the eight-digit number printed on Millionaire Raffle tickets must match the
eight-digit combination selected in the drawing, in the exact sequence in which
it was selected.
The $1 million top prizes must be
claimed by presenting a winning ticket at Pennsylvania Lottery headquarters,
1200 Fulling Mill Rd., Middletown, or at any of the Lottery's seven area
offices throughout the commonwealth. A list of area offices is available at
www.palottery.com. Claims may be filed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4
p.m. at Lottery headquarters and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at area
offices.
Claims for the $100,000 prizes can
be filed at any of the Lottery's seven area offices or at any licensed
Pennsylvania Lottery retailer. Holders of Millionaire Raffle tickets worth
$1,000 and $100 can claim winnings at local Lottery retailers.
This was the ninth Millionaire
Raffle drawing. For a list of top-prize winners from the previous eight
Millionaire Raffle drawings, visit the winner's circle at
www.palottery.com.
About the Pennsylvania
Lottery:
The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that
designates all its proceeds to fund programs that benefit older residents.
Since its inception 37 years ago, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more
than $19.2 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free
and reduced-fare transit; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and
PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging,
including more than 600 full- and part-time senior centers throughout the
state. The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly.
Players must be 18 or older.
For more information on the
Pennsylvania Lottery, visit www.palottery.com.
CONTACT: Kirstin Alvanitakis,
717-702-8008 or 717-756-6251 (cell).
SOURCE: Pennsylvania Lottery.
Southern Californians Clean Up on This Week’s “Make Me a
Millionaire”
Lottery Game Show awarded
more than $19 million in Cash and Prizes in 2009
SACRAMENTO, California (January 2,
2009) - "Make Me a Millionaire," the California Lottery’s TV game
show, awarded 12 lucky contestants a total of $115,000 in cash and prizes on
this week’s show.
With the Millionaire game’s
progressive jackpot increasing $200,000 each week, next week’s Millionaire
game contestant will have a chance to win $3.2 million and start 2010 off with
a big win – just as 2009 saw “Make Me a Millionaire”
contestants win more than $19 million in cash and prizes.
The California Lottery believes in
creating a better, more sustainable environment for future generations, which
is why all cars given away on “Make Me a Millionaire” are fuel
efficient and use clean innovative technologies. All new car winners on this
week’s episode won a Chevy Malibu or the cash equivalent of the
vehicle.
For more information about
“Make Me a Millionaire,” visit
www.calottery.com. For
high resolution photos, please contact (916) 324-9639 or e-mail
newsroom@calottery.com.
More than 95 cents of every Lottery
dollar is returned to the community in the form of contributions to education,
prizes and retail commissions. The California Lottery contributes at least 34
cents of every dollar that players spend on Lottery products to public
education and returns more than 50 percent of sales to players in the form of
prizes. Since the Lottery’s inception in 1985, Lottery players have
contributed more than $21 billion to California schools out of total sales of
nearly $56 billion. Retailers benefit too, earning $3.6 billion in compensation
since 1985.
SOURCE:
The California Lottery.
The Swiss Gambling Market
Potential role model for
other non-EU markets (e.g., US) or just “business as
usual”?
New report on the Swiss
gambling market presents in-depth analyses and includes a unique overview of
the planned liberalisation.
LONDON / MUNICH / ZURICH (January 5,
2010) – Currently, the French liberalisation plans are probably getting
most of the industry’s attention. But in the background, at times almost
neglected, several other countries, such as Switzerland, are setting about
liberalising parts of their gambling market. Switzerland heads for market
liberalisation even though there is no pressure from external parties, such as
the European Commission or the WTO. This is a unique situation and makes
Switzerland a potential role model for other non-EU markets (e.g., US). The
consulting firm MECN and the
Swiss law firm MME Partners have joined forces to compile a new report that
offers an unprecedented in-depth analysis of the Swiss gambling market.
Why pay attention to a gambling
market like Switzerland; after all, with ca. 7.6 million inhabitants it is no
bigger than Greater London? According to MECN, the answer is easy:
- Switzerland is liberalising
without legal pressure – Most EU countries, such as Denmark, France,
Italy, … are under pressure from the European Commission and the European
Court of Justice to review their gambling legislation in order to comply with
EU law. As Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it is under no such pressure
but is still considering opening up key parts of its online gambling market.
Martin Oelbermann, partner at MECN and co-author of the study explains:
“The Swiss liberalisation plans show how the pressure of foreign online
offers on state operators and income forces some states to rethink the existing
regulations.”
- Focus on the online casino
segment – While most EU countries focus their liberalisation plans on the
online betting and poker segments (e.g., France), Switzerland focuses on
opening up the online casino segment. Therefore, all casino operators (online
and offline), usually neglected in liberalisation plans, should pay close
attention to the developments in Switzerland. Also Switzerland has a rather
liberal approach to poker, a reason to hope that the online poker segment will
also be included in the planned liberalisation.
Switzerland – a
potential role model for the US and other non-EU markets?
As described above, Switzerland is
one of the first western countries liberalising parts of its gambling market
solely as a result of the pressure from foreign online offerings and without
experiencing legal pressure on the part of the EU. This fact has led many
experts to suggest that non-EU markets, above all the US, could benefit from a
closer examination of the developments in Switzerland.
The similarities between the Swiss
and the US gambling market are obvious. Aside from the WTO dispute, both
countries can freely discuss a potential liberalisation without being pressured
by third parties (e.g., European Commission) in reviewing and drafting their
regulations. Moreover, both countries have a strong federal system that allows
each state/canton to draft its own gambling regulations. Finding a binding and
nationwide regulation for all states/cantons will be a key challenge for both.
Last but not least, the gambling markets of the US and Switzerland are
structured in similar ways.
MECN’s new report
The report includes detailed
analyses of many relevant topics, including up-to-date information about the
ongoing liberalisation process, analyses of all market sectors, current market
figures, and legal/regulatory and tax information supported by the Swiss law
firm MME Partners. In total, the report has 41 pages and 19 graphics/exhibits
– for more information visit
www.swiss-gambling.mecn.net.
About MECN
MECN is a network of experts on
issues concerning the media and entertainment industry.
Together they provide in-depth
knowledge, analysis, and advice to global clients.
CONTACT: Martin Oelbermann, Tel:
+49(0)89 3835 6785, e-mail: pr@mecn.net.
Lotto Bayern State Lottery Will Administer the Deutschen Lotto- und
Toto-Block From January 1, 2010 for the Next Three
Years
BAYERN, Germany (January 1, 2010) --
Lotto Bayern State Lottery
will assume the administration the German Lotto and Totoblock Association from January 1, 2010
for the next three years. It will takeover the administration from Lotto
Baden-Wuerttemberg, which had been responsible for this task since 2007. The
National Lottery Administration, headquartered in Munich is the spokesman and
coordinator for gambling in Germany.
To mark the change of leadership
Erwin Horak, president of the National Lottery Administration Bavaria, said:
"Well, that Lotto Bayern now the position of the German Lotto and
represented Totoblock responsible and can continue to strengthen."
As one of the main tasks of the
President of the National Lottery Administration and Lotto lead managers to
convince a federal detention of stresses on the Interstate Treaty.
"I thank our colleagues from
Baden-Wuerttemberg. They have the German Lotto and Totoblock well represented
for three years," says Horak.
All sixteen (16) lotteries in the
individual provinces, which in the German Lotto and Toto Block are joined
together, are as reliable, responsible organizer of the state authorized
lotteries and sports betting. Their offers are based strictly on the public
policy objectives. The guidelines include the youth and player protection,
gaming addiction, the prevention of crime such as fraud and money laundering
monitoring, but also an attractive and customer friendly service that is able
to draw the natural playfulness of the human in orderly channels.
Of particular concern is all block
partners to promote the common good, especially in the areas of sport and
social affairs and culture.
SOURCE:
Staatliche
Lotterieverwaltung (Bayerischer Fussball-Toto), Bayern (Deutschen Lotto-
und Toto-Block) press release via EL (Translation by Google). CONTACT: Bernhard Brunner,
Email: Bernhard.Brunner@lotto-bayern.de, Telefon: 089 –
28655395, Fax: 089 – 28655300.
Virginia Lottery To Streamline Costs By No Longer Televising Daily
Draw Show
RICHMOND, Virginia (January 5, 2010)
- The Virginia Lottery is
transitioning its daily draw show and twice-a-week Win-For-Life drawings from
television to the Internet. The cost-saving measure will be complete Monday,
January 11, 2010, so the last daily numbers and Win For Life drawings will air
Saturday, January 9. This does not include Mega Millions drawings, which will
continue to be televised.
The daily drawing show will still
take place and all Virginia Lottery drawings will continue to be held as
before. All drawing security measures will continue, in order to ensure secure
and random drawings. The only difference is the Lottery will no longer pay
television stations to air the show.
Although this is mostly a
cost-saving measure, it is also recognition that a large number of people
receive the Lottery’s daily winning numbers via the Internet and mobile
devices. The Lottery’s Web site,
www.valottery.com,
currently has the drawings in the form of live streaming video and video
replays. Many players also use the Virginia Lottery’s presence on Facebook
www.facebook.com/virginialottery and
Twitter to
receive the numbers. Television stations may also air the show if they choose.
Players who do not have access to
the Internet have many options available to receive daily winning numbers. They
can call the Lottery’s Player Information Line at 804-662-5825. Each of
the nearly-5,000 Virginia Lottery retailers has winning numbers available and
can generate a report through the lottery terminal in the store. In addition,
many newspapers and other media outlets routinely report the results of
Virginia Lottery drawings.
About Virginia Lottery
Nearly 95 cents of each dollar spent
on the Virginia Lottery by players goes back to the Commonwealth in the form of
contributions to education, prizes and retailer commissions. Since 1999, all
Virginia Lottery profits have been designated solely to K-12 public school
education in the Commonwealth. In that time, the Lottery has turned over more
than $4 billion for Virginia’s public schools. The latest annual profits
of $439.1 million currently represent about 7 percent of state funding for
public education in Virginia. In 21 years, the Lottery has sold more than $21.1
billion in tickets, awarded more than $1.1 billion in retailer commissions and
paid more than $11.6 billion in prizes to players.
Follow the Virginia Lottery on
Facebook and Twitter. Please play responsibly.
SOURCE: Virginia Lottery.
Millionaire Raffle Drawing Scheduled For January
20
LANSING, Michigan (January 4, 2010)
- The Michigan Lottery's
Millionaire Raffle drawing will be conducted on January 20 regardless of how
many tickets have been sold, Lottery officials announced today.
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From the tickets sold, six winning
tickets will be drawn for prizes worth $1,000,000 each; 12 ticket holders will
be awarded cash prizes of $100,000 each; 2,000 tickets will be drawn for $500
each; and 4,000 will be worth $100 each. Over $7 million in prizes will be
awarded to thousands of very lucky winners!
Following the drawing, all
Millionaire Raffle results will be available on the Lottery's Web site at
www.michigan.gov/lottery.
Players can also have their tickets
validated by a Michigan Lottery retailer or at one of the Lottery's regional
offices around the state following the drawing.
Millionaire Raffle tickets are
available at all Michigan Lottery retailer locations and are $20 each. Numbers
on tickets must match the exact order in which winning numbers were drawn to be
eligible for a prize and winners must present their original tickets when
making a claim.
Over 98.5 cents of every dollar
spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions
to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers.
In fiscal year 2009, the contribution to schools was $724.5 million. Since its
inception in 1972, the Lottery has contributed more than $15 billion to
education in Michigan.
For additional information, please
visit the Lottery's Web site at:
www.michigan.gov/lottery.
SOURCE: Michigan Lottery.
CONTACT: Andi Brancato 517-335-5648.
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