IGT and William Hill U.S. Form Strategic Partnership for U.S. Lotteries

Best-In-Class Technology and Operational Expertise Combined to Deliver Full Service Solutions Nationwide

LONDON, U.K. (Sept. 25, 2018) -- IGT Global Solutions Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Game Technology PLC ("IGT") (NYSE:IGT) and William Hill U.S., a subsidiary of William Hill PLC (LON:WMH), today announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement to offer U.S. lotteries a full service solution for sports betting. Together, the companies are able to offer U.S. lotteries a fully-managed solution to meet all their current and future needs in sports betting, both maximizing revenues to each state and ensuring a reliable, attractive, and innovative service for players.

IGT is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Interactive and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships...

This new partnership seeks to build upon the already successful pairing between the companies which resulted in IGT being awarded the contract to run sports betting for the Rhode Island Lottery together with William Hill. Under the terms of the partnership, the companies will jointly consider all future sports betting opportunities and bid requests from U.S. lotteries on a mutually exclusive basis. Commercial terms between the partners were not disclosed.

The combined offer to U.S. lotteries under the new agreement will comprise IGT's PlayShot™ end-to-end sports betting platform for land-based, retail, online, and mobile with William Hill's operational, trading, player management, and strategic expertise in U.S. sports books. IGT's PlayShot sports betting platform is already live in four U.S. states as a dedicated B2B solution for sportsbook operators. William Hill operates sports books under its own or partner brands or provides risk management services in all five states where sports betting is active today.

"We are delighted to be partnering with William Hill, whose proven leadership and capability in U.S. sports betting operations will ensure that we are able to fully support our lottery customers as states start to regulate these products. Through this unique partnership, our customers will be able to enter this new activity with total confidence and trust in the service being offered," said Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO, North America.

"IGT is uniquely positioned as a leader in both lottery and sports betting technologies to deliver innovative solutions that will expand the possibilities for players and for lotteries themselves in this exciting new market. By forming this partnership with William Hill, we are able to bring to our lottery customers in every state a world-class combination of technology and operational expertise."

"We are delighted to be expanding our relationship with IGT to address the U.S. lottery market together," said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill U.S. "William Hill's track record as an operator globally, and our clear leadership as a sports book operator in the U.S., in particular, mean that U.S. lotteries can be confident that in choosing IGT and us together, they will be benefiting from a reliable, trustworthy, and responsibly-managed solution – maximizing revenues to each state with a quality product and service."

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About IGT

IGT (NYSE:IGT) is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Digital and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships with governments and regulators in more than 100 countries around the world, and create value by adhering to the highest standards of service, integrity, and responsibility. IGT has over 12,000 employees.

About William Hill

William Hill PLC is one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies, employing over 15,000 people. Its origins are in the UK where it was founded in 1934, and where it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The majority of its $2.1 billion annual revenues are still derived from the UK, where it has a national presence of licensed betting offices and one of the leading online betting and gaming services. In 2012, it established William Hill US with a focus on retail and mobile operations in Nevada, which is now the largest sports betting business in the USA. William Hill US currently operates 108 race and sports books in Nevada and the state's leading mobile sports betting app.  Following the ruling in May 2018 by the Supreme Court that the federal ban on state sponsored sports betting was unconstitutional, the company is planning to operate where permitted by law throughout America. William Hill US is already operating in New Jersey at Monmouth Park Racetrack and is the exclusive risk manager for the sports lottery in Delaware.  William Hill also has licensed operations in The Bahamas, Italy and Spain and serves online customers throughout the world from its Online headquarters in Gibraltar.

CONTACT:

William Hill CONTACT: Michael Grodsky, Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations, (702) 378-7852.

SOURCE: International Game Technology PLC (IGT).

Pollard Banknote Awarded Six-Year Instant Ticket Printing Contract Extension with the Texas Lottery®

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Canada (September 20, 2018) -- Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) (“Pollard Banknote”) is pleased to announce a six-year extension to its Instant Ticket Printing and Production Services contract with the Texas Lottery®. Under this agreement, Pollard Banknote will continue to provide the Lottery with instant ticket printing and related services through to August 31, 2024. Based on our most recent level of volumes, the estimated dollar value over the term of this extension is $70-80 million (CDN).

This agreement extends the successful and nearly 20-year partnership between Pollard Banknote and the Texas Lottery. The Lottery’s success over the last two fiscal years has been particularly impressive, with instant ticket sales significantly above the U.S. average, which in turn generates additional revenue to go toward good causes within the state, most notably for Education and Veterans’ assistance funds. Throughout the relationship, but particularly during this timeframe, Pollard Banknote has supported this growth with the launch of 20 innovative products; products that make us a proud part of the Lottery’s continued success. Supporting services including game design, marketing and promotional support and strategic planning have also played key roles in driving sales.

The Texas Lottery has leveraged many of Pollard Banknote’s innovative products over the years that have proven successful in engaging Texan players, including the irresistible sparkle and shine of Pollard Banknote’s Scratch FX®, most recently featured on the Lottery’s CA$H family of games. Eye-catching Neon inks that stand out at retail and the North American debut of Pollard Banknote’s patented Flip Scratch™ product have also added variety to the Texas Lottery’s outstanding product line-up and contributed to its continued success.

“With a strong focus on collaboration and partnership, combined with industry-leading products and services, Pollard Banknote has proven to be a great asset to the Texas Lottery for almost two decades,” said Gary Grief, Executive Director of the Texas Lottery.

“We are pleased that this contract extension allows us to continue to build on our history of combined success, allowing us to offer Texans the most exciting and entertaining instant lottery products available.”

“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with the Texas Lottery,” said Brad Thompson, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Pollard Banknote. “We have worked together to launch many innovative and engaging products over the years that have captured the attention of players throughout Texas, and can proudly continue along this mutually beneficial path for all parties involved.”

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Established in 1992, the Texas Lottery is committed to generating revenue for the state of Texas through the responsible management and sale of entertaining lottery products. Maintaining the highest standards of security and integrity, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $28 billion in revenue for good causes in the state of Texas, including public education, veterans’ services, and other important state programs. Overall, the Lottery has contributed $22 billion to the Foundation School Fund and $100 million for veterans programs, with $1.313 billion and $16.2 million contributed to these programs respectively in FY 2017.

About Pollard Banknote

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high quality instant ticket products, licensed games, and a full suite of digital offerings ranging from game apps to comprehensive player engagement and iLottery solutions, including strategic marketing and management services. The company is a proven innovator and has decades of experience helping lotteries to maximize player engagement, sales, and proceeds for good causes. Pollard Banknote also plays a major role in providing pull-tab tickets, bingo paper and its Diamond Game and Oasis-branded electronic ticket machines to charitable and other gaming markets in North America. Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 67.6% by the Pollard family and 32.4% by public shareholders, and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). For more information, please visit our website at www.pollardbanknote.com.

CONTACT:

SOURCE: Pollard Banknote Limited.

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) Presented Informative Half-Day Regulators Seminar at IAGR 2018

GLI President and CEO James Maida and Team of Global Experts Shared Valuable Insights

LAS VEGAS, NV (September 25, 2018) - Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) President and CEO James Maida and a team of locally focused, global experts led by GLI EMEA Managing Director Martin Britton presented an informative, complimentary half-day regulators seminar during the recently completed IAGR 2018 Conference.

Maida welcomed participants to the seminar and gave a brief update of GLI activity in jurisdictions around the world. He said, “It was both a pleasure and a privilege to present our half-day regulators seminar to such an esteemed group of industry colleagues. My thanks the outstanding team at IAGR for giving us the opportunity to host this valuable educational event during this year’s annual conference.”

“Set against the backdrop of an ever-changing global regulatory landscape, the thoughtfully curated topics we presented offered a great deal of relevant, timely, and useful information to help regulators around the world successfully overcome challenges and accomplish their goals and objectives. We appreciated the positive reaction from seminar attendees and look forward to partnering with IAGR for future educational events such as this,” Maida added.

One of the many highlights of GLI’s seminar was a special “Ask the Experts” panel on Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Virtual Reality, Fantasy Sports, and Sports. GLI panelists included Senior Compliance Engineer Sergio Suarez; Regulatory Development Manager Alex Haberl; and Andrés Méndez, head of GLI’s Penetration & Vulnerability Testing Services. Britton moderated the panel.

Cybersecurity continues to be a major concern to regulators worldwide. Marco Capozzi, GLI Europe’s Director of ISS, helped seminar participants sharpen their cybersecurity knowledge by speaking on Information Security: Autopsy of a Cyber Attack.

The seminar also featured three bonus educational workshops:

• Marco Capozzi, GLI Europe’s Director of ISS, led Workshop 1: Bulletproof Services – Top 5 Gaming Cybersecurity Issues, along with Andrés Méndez, GLI’s Head of Penetration and Vulnerability Testing Services
• Sergio Suarez, GLI Senior Compliance Engineer, led Workshop 2: GLI University® Training Program
• Alex Haberl, GLI Regulatory Development Manager, led Workshop 3: Advance Game Concepts & Skill-based Gaming

About GLI

Gaming Laboratories International, LLC delivers the highest quality land-based, lottery, and iGaming testing and assessment services. GLI’s laboratory locations are found on six continents, and the company holds U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025, 17020, and 17065 standards for technical competence in the gaming, wagering and lottery industries. GLI also holds ISTBQ certification. For more information, visit gaminglabs.com.

CONTACT: Christie Eickelman, Vice President of Global Marketing, E: c.eickelman@gaminglabs.com.

SOURCE: Gaming Laboratories International, LLC press release.

Texas Lottery Achieves New $5.627 Billion Sales Record

Record revenue for Texas public schools and Texas veterans

AUSTIN, Texas (September 24, 2018) – For the eighth consecutive year, the Texas Lottery has set a new sales record, achieving $5.627 billion in sales for fiscal year 2018, resulting in a record total contribution of $1.450 billion for the state of Texas.

“The Texas Lottery continues to set sales records and generate record revenue for Texas education and veterans,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “This fiscal year, we experienced an increase in sales of $549 million or more than 10 percent over the previous year. We could not continue this record growth without the hard work of our employees, retailers and vendor partners.”

This year’s revenue transfer included $1.432 billion to the Foundation School Fund and

$18.1 million to the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance, the Lottery’s largest contributions to Texas education and Texas veterans. The Texas Lottery has now contributed more than $22 billion to Texas public education and more than $100 million to Texas veterans since the dedication of such funds by the Texas Legislature.

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The Beneficiaries: Texas Education and Texas Veterans

The Foundation School Fund, administered by the Texas Education Agency, funds the operational needs and special program services for Texas school districts including teacher salaries, utilities, equipment, bilingual education, special education, gifted and talented education, and career and technical education.

The Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance makes grants available to eligible charitable organizations, local government agencies, and Veterans Service Organizations that provide direct services to Texas veterans and their families. With 1.7 million veterans spread across the state, these programs provide financial assistance, transportation services, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder counselling and housing assistance.

“The Texas Veterans Commission values our great partnership with the Texas Lottery Commission,” said Thomas P. Palladino, executive director of the Texas Veterans Commission. “With their contribution and others, over 250,000 veterans and their families received vital services from over 400 non-profits and local governments through Fund for Veterans’ Assistance grants.”

Record Scratch Ticket Sales

Scratch ticket sales for FY 2018 totaled $4.42 billion, the highest scratch ticket sales in Texas Lottery history. Scratch ticket sales accounted for 78.5 percent of total sales and saw a 12.3 percent increase over FY 2017 sales.

In addition to record scratch ticket sales, strong performance for draw games generated $1.2 billion in sales. Daily 4 set an all-time sales record for the game, with $114.2 million in sales.

Record Year for Retailers and Players

FY 2018 was also a record year for the Texas Lottery’s nearly 18,000 retailers across the state. Retailer commissions totalled $281.5 million, the highest commission paid to retailers in Texas Lottery history and amounting to an average of $15,679 for each of the Texas Lottery’s retail partners.

“Nearly 8,000 of our retailers, 45 percent of our retailer base, are located in counties that were declared disaster areas following Hurricane Harvey, making this year’s record commissions all the more important,” said Grief.

FY 2018 was also a big year for Texas Lottery players. Players collected $3.737 billion in prizes, the highest amount of prizes paid out in Texas Lottery history.

Careful Spending

The Texas Lottery’s careful spending kept administrative costs to just 3.99 percent of FY 2018 sales, one of the lowest administrative expenditure rates in the country.

“The cost containment measures taken in our administrative budget continue to contribute to our success and our ability to provide revenue to Texas schools,” said Grief.

“Any unspent administrative funds are returned directly to the Foundation School Fund.”

FY 18 by the Numbers

• If it was a publicly traded company, $5.627 billion in annual sales would place the Texas Lottery on the 2018 Fortune 500 list right behind Harley Davidson and ahead of other well-known brands including Western Union, Caesar’s Entertainment, Marathon Oil, and Hasbro.
• This is the 15th consecutive year that the Texas Lottery generated more than $1 billion in revenue for Texas.
• 97 percent of Texas Lottery sales are returned to the state in the form of contributions to the Foundation School Fund, the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance and other state programs, and through prizes and retailer commissions, bonuses and incentives.

“We continue to provide significant support for Texas education and veterans,” said J. Winston Krause, chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission.

“I am proud of the Texas Lottery’s employees, retailers and vendors for once again doing an outstanding job in the strategic development, management and marketing of our portfolio of games.”

About the Texas Lottery

Beginning with the first ticket sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated $28 billion in revenue for the state and distributed $57 billion in prizes to lottery players. Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has contributed $22 billion to the Foundation School Fund, which supports public education in Texas. As authorized by the Texas Legislature, certain Texas Lottery revenues benefit state programs including the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Since the first veterans’ themed scratch ticket game was launched in 2009, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $100 million for programs supporting Texas veterans.

The Texas Lottery provides several entertaining games for lottery players including Powerball®, Mega Millions®, Lotto Texas®, All or Nothing™, Texas Two Step®, Pick 3™, Daily 4™, Cash Five and scratch ticket games. For more information, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or at www.txlottery.org, PLAY RESPONSIBLY.

CONTACT: Media Relations, T: 512-344-5131, E: mediarelations@lottery.state.tx.us.

SOURCE: Texas Lottery press release.

Study Finds Lottery Players Look Similar to All North Carolinians

RALEIGH, North Carolina (September 24, 2018) -- A study of who plays lottery games in North Carolina shows that demographically they look similar to the overall population of the state.

The N.C. Education Lottery partnered with Ipsos, a research and polling firm, to conduct a demographic profile of lottery players. The statewide telephone survey interviewed 2,001 North Carolinians, aged 18 or older, between May 23 and June 19. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percent.

The survey defined a lottery player as someone who had played any lottery game in the last year. Of those surveyed, nearly half, 46 percent, were lottery players.

“We meet North Carolinians every day as they buy tickets and win prizes so we have a good idea of who our players are,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the lottery. “It’s good to see this survey confirms what our experience told us. Folks from all walks of life enjoy playing lottery games.”

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Key takeaways were:

• Lottery players matched the general population in terms of household income with 37 percent of players having a household income of $25,000 to $75,000 a year; 24 percent, under $25,000; 22 percent, $75,000 to $150,000; and 7 percent, $150,000 or more.
• More lottery players are middle-aged with 42 percent in the 35-54 age group, 33 percent in the 55 plus age group, and 24 percent in the 18 to 34 age group.
• More lottery players held university degrees or attended some college, including 25 percent university graduates, 34 percent with some college, and 41 percent with a high school degree or less.

“A good deal of assumptions are made as to who play lottery games,” said Michalko. “A valid and reliable scientific survey, such as this one, answers important questions that will help guide the responsible growth of the lottery.”

Comparisons of lottery players with the state’s overall population also showed:

• A higher percentage of lottery players are middle-aged, 42 percent are in the 35-54 age group vs. 35 percent in general population.
• A slightly higher percentage of lottery players are male, 52 percent vs. 49 percent in the general population.
• A slightly higher percentage of lottery players are African-Americans, 23 percent vs. 20 percent in general population.

The survey is part of the lottery’s corporate social responsibility program and was a commitment the lottery made as it achieved the highest level of responsible gaming certification recognized internationally last December. The Level 4 accreditation from the World Lottery Association attested that the lottery has implemented responsible gaming practices into its day-to-day operations and continuous improvement of them.

CONTACT: Van Denton, Director of Communications, Brand Management & Communications: PHONE: (919) 301-3308.

SOURCE: N.C. Education Lottery press release.

OPAP to Purchase TCB Holdings Stake for €50m

Regulatory Announcement

Announcement of Regulated Information of L. 3556/2007: OPAP makes investment in Stoiximan

ATHENS, Greece (September 24, 2018) -- OPAP S.A. (‘OPAP’) announces that its 100% subsidiary, OPAP Investment Ltd, has signed a preliminary agreement for the acquisition of shares in Stoiximan Group.

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OPAP Investment Ltd has pre-agreed to acquire a 36.75% stake in the mother company of Stoiximan Group, TCB Holdings Ltd (‘TCB’), for a consideration of Euros 50 million subject to the relevant betting regulatory clearance.

The latter offers, through its 100%-owned subsidiaries, online gaming services in Greece and Cyprus, under the Stoiximan brand, and in Romania and Germany, under the Betano brand. In 2017, Stoiximan Group had revenues of Euros 136 million and EBITDA of c. Euros 16 million.

OPAP has also reached pre-agreement with TCB to make an additional investment to acquire joint control with TCB in Stoiximan Group’s Greek and Cypriot operations. This investment is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions precedent, including clearance by the competent gaming regulatory and anti-trust authorities and the performance of due diligence. Once the due diligence is concluded, the terms of the investment will be crystalized and the full details will be disclosed.

Stoiximan Group, with the existing Stoiximan management team, will continue to operate independently from OPAP’s own online business.

These investments are aligned with one of OPAP’s key strategic priorities - Leveraging the latest Digital and Technology Capabilities.

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After the conclusion of its large-scale retail technology transformation programme this summer, OPAP has been focusing on building up its own online activities and will also be launching its new online/mobile sportsbook, Pamestoixima.gr, in the next few days.

Damian Cope, OPAP CEO commented: “As part of our ambition to become a world-class gaming entertainment company, we know that we must offer our customers an attractive and competitive online gaming experience. The imminent launch of our new online sportsbook Pamestoixima.gr is the first step in this direction, with the intention to add further products online over the next 12 months. The new sportsbook will offer competitive odds for our customers in Greece and generate additional commission income for the agents in our retail network.

“The strategic investment in Stoiximan that we are announcing today directly compliments OPAP’s own online activities and also gives us online presence at an international level. Stoiximan has proven itself to be a successful online operator and we are happy to be working with them. We therefore look ahead with confidence to the next stage of OPAP’s modernisation and development in the delivery of our overall 2020 Vision”.

George Daskalakis, Stoiximan CEO stated: “OPAP’s strategic investment in Stoiximan, Greece’s largest online betting operator, is a tangible acknowledgement of the hard work of the 450 members of our team and of our company’s successful growth model. At the same time, it underscores its potential, as we are entering the stage of the permanent regulation of the online gaming market in Greece.

“This partnership strengthens Stoiximan’s leading position in Greece and additionally allows us to accelerate our growth in international markets, as well as to intensify our strategic focus on technology. Our vision is to become established as one of the top GameTech-companies in Europe while maintaining our Greek character and it is towards this direction that we will continue to work with the same passion and dedication”. 

SOURCE: OPAP S.A. press release.

Local Licensed Gambling Operators Lose Ground (-1.9%) to International Online Operators (+12.5%) in 1H 2018 Despite Continued Growth of Sweden’s Gaming Market

SWEDEN (September 24, 2018) -- The gaming market in Sweden had a turnover of SEK 11.2 billion after paid earnings in the first two quarters of 2018. This is an increase of 1.5 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. Swedish actors traded SEK 8.2 billion, a decrease of 1.9 percent. Non-Swedish actors traded SEK 3.0 billion, an increase of 12.5 percent. The market share for gaming players with Swedish licenses amounted to 73 percent in the first two quarters, while non-Swedish players had 27 percent of the market. Games on the internet increased by 13.8 percent, while land-based games decreased by 8.6 percent.

• Svenska Spel had a turnover of 4.3 billion kronor, a decrease of 1.3 per cent. The land-based games decreased by 8.8 percent while online games increased by 22.6 percent.
• ATG traded SEK 2.0 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent. The land-based games decreased by 8.8 percent. Games on the internet increased by 9.8 percent.
• National Lotteries
  -- Svenska Postkodföreningen had a turnover of SEK 1.1 billion, a decrease of 7.8 percent.
  -- Folk games, with Bingolotto and Sverigelotten, had a turnover of 253 million, a decrease of 7.3 percent.
  -- IOGT-NTO, which has, among other things, the Million Lottery, sold SEK 129 million, a decrease of 13.1 percent.
  -- SAP / SSU , which, among other things, has the Combined Lottery, sold SEK 97 million, a decrease of 11.2 percent.
  -- Other organizers of rikslotterier, such as the Cancer Fund and PRO and others, had a turnover of 96 million kronor, a decrease of 1.4 percent.
  --Non-Swedish actors traded SEK 3.0 billion, corresponding to an increase of 12.5 percent.

Sales figures for some of the smaller lotteries, land-based bingo, restaurant casinos and local and regional lotteries are missing, but the Lottery Inspectorate estimates that they have sold about 250 million kronor during the period.

See quarterly figures for 2018, click here!

About the compilation

The Lottery Inspectorate continuously collects and analyzes data to monitor trends in the game area. For Swedish-licensed players, sales figures are based on data from each player. For players without permission in Sweden, sales figures are retrieved from H2 Gambling Capital. Revenue figures refer to sales after paid earnings (net sales).

For further information:

Magnus Granlund, analyst, tel. 0152-650 171, 0765-330 171, E: magnus.granlund@lotteriinspektionen.se

My Hamrén, Press Officer, tel. 0152-650 174, 0765-330 174, E: my.hamren@lotteriinspektionen.se

SOURCE: Lotteriinspektionen.

Paf Acquires Its Long-Time Bingo Supplier Proactive Gaming

Åland-based gaming operator Paf invests in product portfolio development through the purchase of its bingo supplier Proactive Gaming Scandinavia AB

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 24, 2018) -- The acquisition is a continuation of a successful collaboration between Paf (Ålands Penningautomatförening) and Swedish gaming technology company Proactive Gaming Scandinavia AB.The two companies started working together in 2014, when Proactive became the new bingo supplier for Paf.

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More unique gaming experiences

Proactive, headquartered in Norrköping, is known for their experience and competence in developing unique and flexible gaming solutions. Since bingo is one of the central product categories in Paf's product portfolio, the company is ready to invest in product development. Purchasing Proactive gives Paf the freedom and technical edge to take the product further in order to continue catering to its verticals:

“Bingo is an important product category for Paf, and this acquisition enables us to take control over and further develop this category in order to deliver more unique gaming experiences for our customers at Paf.com,” Paf CEO Christer Fahlstedt says.

Added value from Proactive team

Having previously successfully collaborated with Proactive, Paf feels confident that the transition period after the acquisition will go smoothly.

“We truly appreciate the broad technical expertise of Proactive and warmly welcome the team members based in Norrköping to Paf. Since we have already worked together with these dedicated professionals at Proactive for several years, we know that they will make an important contribution to our organisation,” Fahlstedt says.

CONTACT: Christer Fahlstedt, CEO, T: +358(0)40-632-9990, E: christer.fahlstedt@paf.com.

SOURCE: Paf.

GambleAware Announce a New Two-Year, £1.5 Million Partnership with Citizens Advice

LONDON, U.K. (September 25, 2018) -- GambleAware has announced today a new two-year, £1.5 million partnership with Citizens Advice to help debt advisors better understand, prevent or reduce gambling related harms.

Being delivered across nine regions in England and Wales, the project will provide training to frontline debt advisors. The training will give staff the necessary tools to identify and support people who may be suffering from gambling related harm, as well as directing those at risk to the specialist help that is available.

The project will establish regional hubs with dedicated support staff across the country and will enable staff to deliver training to other frontline workers in other professions who come across people suffering from gambling related harm, such as frontline local authority staff, youth practitioners and healthcare workers.

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The funding commitment comes after a successful six-year pilot project GambleAware ran with Newport Citizens Advice to deliver the Gambling Support Service.

Dr Jane Rigbye, Director of Education at GambleAware said: “The debt advice workforce has an enormous role to play in supporting and reducing the likelihood of people experiencing gambling-related harms, as do many professions who come into contact with the general public on a daily basis. Encouraging and enabling staff in all public-facing settings to be aware of the possibility that the presenting problems could be related to gambling is key in helping to tackle this issue.

I am particularly delighted that we will continue to work with Katie Fry to lead this programme, and with her team at Newport Citizens Advice’s Gambling Support Service

as we roll out the programme at far greater scale.”

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said: “Gambling can have life-changing effects, not just on the individual but also their families and friends. People seek our help to deal with the practical problems that come out of this - including increased debt and relationship breakdown.

“We are pleased to be partnering with GambleAware to develop services across England and Wales. These will help our staff make a real difference to people struggling with gambling.”

Katie Fry, Manager of the Newport Citizens Advice Gambling Support Service said:

“We know those we help with gambling often experience significant mental health problems. In two years, we’ve trained more than 2,000 advisors and volunteers to recognise gambling issues and help people to overcome them.

"I’m delighted the success of our project can now grow beyond South Wales.”

CONTACT: Sarah Evans, T: +44 7523 609 413, E: gambleaware@atlas-partners.co.uk.

SOURCE: GambleAware press release.

EquiLottery Games Pioneering New Live Sports Lottery Category

Company to Offer Lottery Games of Pure Chance Based on All Live Sports

LOUISVILLE, KY(September 27, 2018) --  EquiLottery, a gaming company best known for its live horse racing lottery game Win Place Show™, is transitioning its corporate identity and evolving its mission to better serve its lottery customers. Rebranded as EquiLottery Games, the company will expand its pioneering vision for live sports lottery games from a single horse racing product to now include baseball, basketball, football, golf, hockey, soccer and stock car racing.

These games are built on the same patented platform as Win Place Show™, EquiLottery Games’ flagship product based on the results of live horse racing. Win Place Show™ will be launched on a trial basis by the Kentucky Lottery in March of 2019.

“We have always been a future-focused company, leading the way on products that combine the excitement of live sports with the lottery draw experience,” said EquiLottery Games CEO Brad Cummings. “Our original vision was to introduce live horse racing to new fans through government lotteries.  We have now expanded our offerings to include lottery games based on all live sports. This solves a pain point for lotteries by allowing them to offer a form of sports wagering through their existing statutes and retail channels with low-risk games designed to appeal to their player base.”

EquiLottery Games will now introduce six new games for lotteries to offer their players in addition to Win Place Show™. The team sport parlay game allows players to buy lottery tickets based on a slate of ten games from the big five professional sports in the U.S. -- baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer. Matching the winner of all ten games returns an estimated top prize of $1,000. Car Cash™ features tickets listing three drivers in a 40-car race and pays out an estimated $50,000 top prize. Golfing for Gold™ is based on a ticket featuring three golfer and pays an estimated top prize of $2,000,000. All games are quick pick only, meaning the randomization happens at the pick while the draw is a live, authentic sporting event.

All EquiLottery duties will be assumed by EquiLottery Games, including the preparation for and launch of Win Place Show™  by the Kentucky Lottery beginning March 24, 2019. For more information on these new live sports lottery games, including specifics on how they work, as well as the vision for EquiLottery Games, visit www.EquiLotteryGames.com.

Click here to read more about this new suite of lottery games.

CONTACT: Brad Cummings, T: (502) 644-1454.

SOURCE: EquiLottery Games.

Authentic Gaming Launches in Italy

Innovative live casino supplier enters regulated market through partnerships with tier one operators LeoVegas and Eurobet

MALTA (September 26, 2018) -- Premium live casino supplier, Authentic Gaming, has entered the Italian market for the first time, launching with two of the largest operators in the region, LeoVegas.it and Eurobet.

Players at LeoVegas and Eurobet will now gain access to live table games streamed from the floors of real world casinos, featuring real croupiers and real players via the supplier’s innovative Authentic Roulette platform.

Games are streamed in high definition from premium land-based casinos, including: the Platinum Casino at the Radisson BLU Hotel in Bucharest, the Royal Casino in Denmark and soon the Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City, London.

Both operators will also gain access to Authentic Gaming’s latest live roulette innovation; ARENA.

The state-of-the-art studio contains six Live Auto Roulette tables, with four different game formats: Classic Roulette, Speed Roulette, VIP Roulette and a never-seen-before variant, Blaze Roulette.

Jonas Delin, CEO of Authentic Gaming, said: “Authentic Gaming is delighted to have expanded its geographical footprint and to launch its products to Italian players for the very first time and with such prestigious operators.

“Italy is the third of our regulated market entries since our launch and is a very important market for our continued growth.

“LeoVegas and Eurobet are ideal partners in this regard. They are innovative and exciting, and both have already built a reputation for their live casino offerings. The addition of our products will take this to the next level.”

About Authentic Gaming:

Authentic Gaming is a provider of premium live casino systems to online and land-based gaming operators. All Authentic Gaming tables are broadcasted live from the floors of luxurious resort casinos across the world. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Malta.

For Sales Queries, please CONTACT: Authentic Gaming, Magdalena Podhorska-Okolow, Head of Sales & B2B Marketing, E: magdalena.podhorska@authenticgaming.com.

SOURCE: Authentic Gaming press release.

Global Lottery Monitoring System President Discusses the US Sports Betting Landscape at the BOS Conference

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (September 20, 2018) -- GLMS President, Ludovico Calvi, attended the Betting on Sports Conference on 19 September 2018 in London, UK. Ludovico was part of the high-level panel “Holding Integrity” focusing on sports integrity matters mainly in the US market following the repeal of PASPA. Ludovico welcomed again the US Supreme Court decision of May 2018 which enabled US states to establish their own regulated sports betting and fight, as a result, illegal betting activities.

The original Federal intent of prohibiting legal sports betting throughout the US was to preserve sports integrity, but PASPA failed and had clearly the opposite effect by creating a massive and unobserved black market.

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GLMS President highlighted the importance of a sustainable sports betting market environment in each US state and recalled that it is imperative to establish guidelines and processes to ensure a high level of integrity in all sports by detecting and preventing match fixing. At the same time while it is important to invest resources in responsible gaming, quality work needs to be done to create a sustainable fiscal environment which will enable legal, regulated sports betting to compete against the black market.

Ludovico highlighted that sports betting patterns need to be effectively monitored and analysed at local and global level and shared with key stakeholders and a monitoring system, such as GLMS, can play a key role in this regard. GLMS strategic guidelines are based on the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulations of Sport Competitions, which has the aim to combat the manipulation of sports competitions globally in order to protect the integrity of sport and sports ethics in accordance with the principle of the autonomy of sport.

In our opinion, the Convention is by far the most complete international legal instrument available against all types of manipulations of sports competitions. It is truly a complete set of provisions covering all key matters: education & prevention, sharing of information, criminal provisions, conflict of interest provisions, sports betting regulation (including against illegal sports betting), money laundering, fraud, corruption, cross-border judicial co-operation, data protection and human rights.

GLMS CONTACTS:

• Giancarlo Sergi, GLMS General Secretary: giancarlo.sergi@glms-sport.org

• Evangelos Alexandrakis, GLMS Deputy General Secretary, evangelos.alexandrakis@glms-sport.org

About GLMS

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GLMS is the state lotteries’ mutualized monitoring system on sports betting.

It aims at detecting and analyzing suspicious betting activities that could question the integrity of a sport competition.

Building on six years of experience with the establishment in 2009 of ELMS with European Lotteries, GLMS went global in January 2015 extending the network to other continents.

GLMS facilitates the sharing of sports betting information as part of the collective efforts of its members in ensuring sports integrity globally, and is dedicated to effective cooperation with all key stakeholders: regulators, law enforcement authorities, sports organizations.

GLMS currently has 31 individual Members from 4 continents (Österreichische Lotterien - Austria,  Loterie Nationale – Belgium, Hrvatska Lutrija – Croatia,  Danske Spil – Denmark, Veikkaus – Finland, La Française Des Jeux – France,  Staatliche Loterieverwaltung in Bayern – Germany, Opap SA – Greece,  Szerencsejatek – Hungary, Islenk Getspa – Iceland,  Israel Sports Betting Board  - Israel, Lottomatica – Italy, Sisal – Italy,   Maltco Lotteries Ltd – Malta, Norsk Tipping – Norway,  Santa Casa De Misericordia da Lisboa – Portugal,   STOLOTO – Russia, Sportna Loterija – Slovenia,  Svenska Spel – Sweden,   Loterie Romande – Switzerland, Swisslos – Switzerland,  Nederlandse Loterij, the Netherlands,  Hong Kong Jockey Club – Hong Kong, Singapore Pools – Singapore,  Ktoto Co – South Korea, China Sports Lottery – China, Loto-Québec- Canada,  Polla Chilena de Beneficencia – Chile, Banca de Quinielas de Montevideo – Uruguay, La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports, Morocco,  Loterie Nationale du Sénégal – Senegal) and 2 collective Members (European Lotteries Association and World Lottery Association).

SOURCE: Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS).

Have You Registered Yet for the WLS 2018 in Buenos Aires?

It is already July, and WLS 2018 in Buenos Aires, the lottery event of the year, will soon kick-off in grand style.

If you have not yet registered for this important event, we encourage you to do so today. As a member-based association with a global reach, a key goal of the WLA is to provide our members with a platform for learning international lottery best practice, as well as a forum for networking with lottery colleagues from around the world. There is no other event in the industry that meets these goals better than the World Lottery Summit.

In the interest of our attendees, we have negotiated excellent room rates. We recommend you to act now and take advantage of this great offer, which will only last until October 12, 2018.

The WLA together with host ALEA look forward to welcoming you in Buenos Aires for WLS 2018, the WLA’s flagship event.

To register, please CLICK HERE.

Further information about the convention can be found at the WLS 2018 website at: www.worldlotterysummit.org

See you in Buenos Aires!

Sincerely,

Jean-Luc Moner-Banet

WLA President

2018 APLA Regional Conference 8 - 12 October 2018 - Registration OPEN!

Dear friends of APLA

Hurray! We are pleased to announce that the Registration for the 2018 APLA Regional Conference is now open!

The details for this event are as follows:

• Date: 8 - 12 October 2018 (Business Program on 9 - 11 October 2018)\
• Venue: Hilton Kuching Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
• Theme: Rumble in the Jungle

This Conference is being hosted and organized by Magnum Corporation Sdn Bhd.

A very interesting and varied business program has been drawn up to keep the attention of the delegates' interests on all 2.5 days.

Have a read at the ebrochure attached and you will find we have invited a Global Keynote Speaker, Guest speakers with domain knowledge on the topics selected, our very own Panelists from our peers to share their experiences, our popular debate with a thought-provoking topic and a special half day workshop on Design Thinking. Not forgetting the sharing from our valued Sponsors on their commitment and direction towards embracing which new technologies.

Do keep checking the APLA website for more announcements and updates (www.asiapacific-lotteries.com) and note that the Closing Date for the Conference Registration and Hotel booking is 24 September 2018.

See you all in Kuching!

Regards

Beh Swan Swan APLA Secretariat Administrator

www.asiapacific-lotteries.com