IGT
Launches New Bingo Gaming Platform with Manitoba Liquor &
Lotteries
Custom game bundle on
IGTs CrystalSlant cabinet includes live bingo, slots, video poker
and keno
LONDON, U.K. (April 2, 2019) --
International Game Technology PLC (IGT) (NYSE: IGT) announced today
that it recently launched a new Bingo Gaming Platform with Manitoba Liquor
& Lotteries (MBLL). The Canadian lottery operator now features a total of
500 of these unique Class III games at two of its flagship casinos in Winnipeg,
Canada McPhillips Station Casino and Club Regent Casino.
Housed on IGTs CrystalSlant
cabinet, the Bingo Gaming Solution was developed specifically for MBLL and
features live session bingo games along with a custom, ten-game content bundle
that was developed specifically for MBLL.
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Each Bingo Gaming Solution features
three player-favorite slot games, such as Lucky Larrys Lobstermania®
3, three video poker games such as Deuces Wild Poker, and four Keno games such
as Fireball Keno® and Cleopatra® Keno.
Launching IGTs Bingo
Gaming Solution with MBLL represents an exciting milestone in our long-standing
relationship with MBLL, said David Flinn, IGT Regional Vice President
Canada. The Bingo Gaming Solution that weve developed for MBLL
delivers a dynamic player experience and leverages a wide range of proven IGT
game content that was bundled specifically for MBLL and its
players.
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. For more information, please visit:
www.igt.com.
IGT CONTACTS:
Angela Geryak Wiczek,
Corporate Communications, toll free in U.S./Canada (844) IGT-7452; outside
U.S./Canada
(401) 392-7452 |
Michelle Schenk,
Global Communications,
Gaming
T: (702) 669-8177 |
Giuliano Frosini,
for Italian media
inquiries
T: +39 06 51899584; |
James Hurley,
Investor Relations,
T: (401) 392-7190 |
SOURCE: IGT.
INTRALOT Appoints Nicklas Zajdel as Group Chief Digital Officer
and Maria Stergiou as Group Chief Operations Officer
ATHENS, Greece (March 29, 2019) --
INTRALOT announces the appointment of Mr. Nicklas Zajdel as Group Chief Digital
Officer and Mrs. Maria Stergiou as Group Chief Operations Officer, effective
April 15, 2019.
Mr. Zajdel joins from Ladbrokes
Coral (GVC group) where he was Omni-Channel Director. Prior to this role, Mr.
Zajdel held several positions with Ladbrokes, including Managing Director of
Ladbrokes digital business. He also brings extensive product and B2B
experience from his time at Playtech.
Mr. Zajdel will provide strategic
and managerial leadership for the revamp and enhancement of INTRALOTs
capabilities through a new Digital Division, leveraging his 12 years of
operating experience in mature and ultra-competitive markets. He will be
responsible for the company Sportsbook and Trading operations, INTRALOTs
Core Digital Platforms, and Online operations. In his position he will work to
attract experienced industry talent for the Digital Division, create a
portfolio of best-in-class digital operational services, and contribute to the
development of next-generation products.
Mrs. Maria Stergiou joined INTRALOT
five years ago and has led PMO and Operations roles during her tenure. She will
replace Michael Kogeler and will be responsible for the Groups business
operations around the world, the Project Management Office as well as the
relationships with Partners and Customers.
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Mrs. Stergiou has joined INTRALOT
after a successful career at Xerox, where she held the position of Large
Accounts Director since 2005, following five years at Microsoft in roles
spanning from Government Marketing to Platform Strategy. She started her career
in the UK and built her extensive experience over 20 years in areas of Project
Management, Business Processes Reengineering, and Change Management.
INTRALOT Group Deputy CEO Nikos
Nikolakopoulos stated: The appointment of Mr. Zajdel contributes to
INTRALOTs strategic objective of Shaping the Future of Gaming by
strengthening our capabilities with new digital products and services to assist
growth across all industry verticals but particularly enhance our abilities to
tap the nascent Sports betting market in the US. I also welcome Mrs. Stergiou,
a long-time associate, in her new role, looking forward to leveraging her
experience with the company and our industry in driving growth and customer
satisfaction.
About INTRALOT
INTRALOT, a public listed company
established in 1992, is a leading gaming solutions supplier and operator active
in 52 regulated jurisdictions around the globe. With 1.1 billion turnover
and a global workforce of approximately 5,100 employees (3,100 of which in HQ
and subsidiaries and 2,000 in associates) in 2017, INTRALOT is an innovation
driven corporation focusing its product development on the customer
experience. The company is uniquely positioned to offer to lottery and gaming
organizations across geographies market-tested solutions and retail operational
expertise. The company has designed a new ecosystem of holistic omni-channel
solutions across verticals (Lottery, Betting, Interactive, VLT) for Lotteries
digital transformation. INTRALOT has been awarded the prestigious WLA
Responsible Gaming Framework Certification by the World Lottery Association
(WLA) and the WLA certificate for the Security Control standard.
For more information please CONTACT:
Ms. Spyranda Anamouroglou, Corporate Communications Manager, Phone: +30-210
6156000, Fax: +30-210 6106800, email:
anamouroglou@intralot.com.
SOURCE: INTRALOT (www.intralot.com).
Instant Tickets Help Drive Record Performance for Michigan
Lottery in 2018
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (April 1, 2019)
-- Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) (Pollard Banknote)
congratulates the Michigan Lottery on its record-breaking $941.3 million
contribution to its beneficiary, public education, in Fiscal Year 2018. Instant
games were a major factor in the Lotterys success, driving sales and
helping to boost its contribution to the states School Aid Fund.
The Lottery achieved record sales
last year of nearly $3.6 billion, which largely can be attributed to a
significant 12.6% increase in instant game sales. The Michigan Lottery is the
only U.S. lottery to achieve double-digit annual instant sales growth for the
past five consecutive years, and is on track for another outstanding year, with
Fiscal Year 2019 year-to-date instant game sales up 15% compared to the similar
period for Fiscal Year 2018, which ended Sept. 30, 2018.
Since 1996, Pollard Banknote has
been helping the Michigan Lottery with strategic planning on a variety of
instant game initiatives, from market research to retail strategy, and the
introduction of innovative products. Among the contributors to the
Lotterys success over the past year is Pollard Banknotes patented
Scratch FX®, which adds a premium shine to instant game tickets. In Fiscal
Year 2018, the Michigan Lottery used Scratch FX® on more than 20 instant
games, including the Tax Free family of tickets offered at $1, $2, $5, and $10
price points.
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The Lottery also experienced success
with Pollard Banknotes Winning Combinations, which pairs Scratch
FX® and neon ink for even greater visual appeal. Even with five prior game
launches at the same price point, the $150,000,000 Payout ticket, which
features Winning Combinations, achieved 20% higher sales than the
Lotterys average $30 game since 2015 (based on 10-week sales).
These innovations were also used to
reinvigorate some of the Lotterys base games, such as Cashword and Wild
Time. This included the Lotterys $5 and $10 Wild Time games, and the $20
Super Bonus Cashword ticket, which was produced in an oversized format with
Scratch FX®.
We have enjoyed a great
relationship with the Michigan Lottery for over 20 years, said Donna
Preziotti, Director, Sales & Marketing, Pollard Banknote. The
Michigan Lottery does an excellent job of keeping players excited with a
variety of offerings in its instant ticket portfolio, and we are excited for
the opportunity to continue helping the Lottery introduce new strategies and
products to promote continued growth.
The recent record-breaking
years have been an exciting time for the Lottery, said Glenn Strong,
Deputy Commissioner of Games and Marketing, Michigan Lottery. We are
always looking for new ways to drive instant sales, so we are celebrating our
success, but also looking forward to discovering new ways to increase the
Lotterys contributions to the School Aid Fund in coming
years.
About the Michigan
Lottery
Since it was established in 1972,
the mission of the Michigan Lottery has been to maximize revenue to support
public schools by providing fun and entertaining games of chance. The Lottery
contributed a record $941.3 million to its beneficiary, the School Aid Fund, in
the recently ended Fiscal Year 2018. This was the Lotterys fourth
consecutive record contribution, topping the previous record of $924.1 million
set in the 2017 fiscal year. Since its inception, the Michigan Lottery has
provided more than $22 billion to support public education. To learn more,
visit www.michiganlottery.com.
About Pollard Banknote Limited
Pollard Banknote is a leading
lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high quality
instant ticket products, licensed games, Schafer Systems retail merchandising
solutions, 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 provides 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 67.5% by the Pollard family and 32.5%
by public shareholders, and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). For more
information, please visit our website at
www.pollardbanknote.com.
CONTACT:
Doug Pollard,
Co-Chief Executive
Officer,
Telephone: (204) 474-2323
E-mail: dpollard@pbl.ca
|
John Pollard,
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (204) 474-2323
E-mail: jpollard@pbl.ca
|
Rob Rose,
Chief Financial Officer,
Telephone: (204) 474-2323
E-mail: rrose@pbl.ca |
SOURCE: Pollard Banknote
Limited.
Horse
Racing-Themed Lottery Game Now Available on a Trial Basis in Select
Cities
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (April 1, 2019)
-- The Kentucky Lottery has launched a limited pilot program of the game Win
Place Show, the first-ever daily lottery game based on the results of live
horse racing.
Players can purchase the $2 Quick
Pick tickets at one of the 45 retailers now offering the game on a limited
basis. Each ticket lists three numbers with corresponding horse names, along
with the designated race time and other key racetrack information. Prizes are
paid based on the outcome of the race.
Since the tickets are Quick Picks
and players cant select their own numbers, there is no handicapping skill
involved. Final prizes are determined after race results are official, and are
estimated to range from $10 to $1800 (depending on field size, amount wagered
and other factors).
The game will feature a daily race
from one of 21 tracks in 14 states. These tracks stretch from California to
Florida, with the first week of the pilot featuring Lexingtons Keeneland
Race Course.
Given Kentuckys
connection to the horse industry, we felt we needed to test this game as to see
how players responded, said Tom Delacenserie, president and CEO of
the Kentucky Lottery.
Today weve launched
limited sales of the game in 45 stores across Louisville, Lexington and
Northern Kentucky. At the end of the 90 day trial period, well assess the
games results to see if it would be viable for a state-wide
rollout.
The Win Place Show game was
developed and implemented by Kentucky-based EquiLottery Games.
The Win Place Show mobile app is now
available in the App Store and Google Play and allows players to watch races
live or via replay through their phones.
They can also watch races through
any device by visiting WinPlaceShowLotto.com. The website and mobile app also
have a searchable list of the 45 retailers selling the game during this trial
period.
"We're thrilled to be working
with the Kentucky Lottery on this limited trial of Kentucky's Win Place
Show," said EquiLottery Games CEO Brad Cummings.
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"We look forward to seeing how
this game performs for our partners at the Kentucky Lottery as we aim to
increase education funding in the state and share the excitement of live horse
racing with people all year round.
ABOUT EQUILOTTERY GAMES:
EquiLottery Games is developing a
series of live sports games of pure chance protected by US and Canadian
patents. The company supports its lottery offerings through a series of
products and services that make its games plug-and-play for its state lottery
customers.
These include systems integrations,
mobile apps, video streaming, intellectual property licensing, sports
licensing, horsemen negotiations, calendar development, data licensing, second
chance raffle prizes and multi-channel marketing support.
The Kentucky Lottery
The Kentucky Lottery has earned over
$5.3 billion for the Commonwealth since 1989. KLC dividends pay for college
scholarships, grants and education programs.
Visit kheaa.com to find out more
about grants and scholarships paid for by the KLC.
For More Information: Chip Polston,
Jennifer Cunningham, Sara Westerman (502) 560-1675
For More Information CONTACT:: Chip
Polston, Jennifer Cunningham, Sara Westerman, T: (502) 560-1675.
SOURCE: The Kentucky Lottery.
Arizona Lottery Wins Six ADDY Awards, Lands Gold for Integrated
Campaign
Honor Recognizes Premier
Creative in Advertising
PHOENIX, Arizona (April 1, 2019)
The Phoenix Advertising Club (American Advertising Federation Phoenix)
celebrated the best and most innovative in the Phoenix advertising community
last month at the 2019 ADDYs Gala, which quickly became a successful
night for the Arizona Lottery. The Arizona Lottery received six ADDY awards and
landed a Gold Award for its Fast Play integrated campaign.
We are incredibly honored
to receive this recognition for our industry-leading creativity and
innovation, said Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery, Gregg
Edgar.
We worked tirelessly with
our advertising partner, OH Partners, to bring originality and trailblazing
creative to our campaigns and products. It was a thrilling process to develop
these campaigns and it has been a privilege to see our players excited
too.
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The Arizona Lottery landed six ADDY
awards for campaigns and installations including Fast Play, $215 Million Cash
Explosion Scratchers® ticket, the Capitol Museum exhibit and Shop Less,
Scratch More. These campaigns were recognized across a variety of categories
including art direction, radio, out-of-home advertising, integrated campaign
and more.
With the Lotterys Gold Award,
the Fast Play integrated campaign will now move on to be judged on a regional
level. The agency is proud to showcase its work regionally and remains
committed to elevating the brand and producing industry-leading work in order
to maximize its growth and brand awareness.
OH Partners is the Agency of Record
for the Arizona Lottery and concepted, directed and executed the recognized
work. To learn more about the Arizona Lottery, visit
www.arizonalottery.com.
Scratchers® is a registered
service mark of the California Lottery.
About Arizona Lottery
Since 1981, the Arizona Lottery and
its retail partners have generated more than $4.1 billion in net funding in
support of programs that help to improve the quality of life for the people of
Arizona. Proceeds from Lottery ticket sales more than $4 million per
week fund programs in education, economic development, environmental
conservation and health and human services. The mission is to support Arizona
programs for the public benefit by maximizing net revenue in a responsible
manner. Learn more at ArizonaLottery.com
CONTACT: John Turner Gilliland, E:
jgilliland@azlottery.gov, (480)
921-4438 desk, (602) 702-2758 cell.
SOURCE: Arizona Lottery.
Regulator Warns Gambling Industry Not to Circumvent FOBT Stake
Cut
BIRMINGHAM, U.K. (March 30, 2019) --
Ahead of the £2 stake limit on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (B2 machines)
coming into force on 1 April, the Gambling Commission has written to bookmakers
to remind them of their responsibilities in ensuring consumers are
protected.
From Monday, the maximum stake that
can be offered on the gaming machines will drop from £100 to £2 per
spin. The new rules are intended to reduce the risks that players can lose
large amounts of money in a short space of time.
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Ahead of the implementation, the
Gambling Commissions chief executive has reiterated to bookmakers the
regulators expectations about how the changes should be managed.
Neil McArthur, chief executive of
the Gambling Commission, said: We have been closely monitoring
operators plans to manage the implementation of the stake cut and we will
continue to watch very carefully to ensure that any changes and developments to
these products are done with a focus on customer safety.
Together with Government
and the industry we must continue our ongoing work to make the whole industry
safer - this includes continuing to make progress with making other products
safer, as customers may move to gamble in other ways following the stake cut
including online, mobile and on the high street. Its imperative
that operators invest in and use data, technology and measures to identify
harmful play and can step in to protect players when needed. They should be
innovating to protect their customers, as much as they do to make a
profit.
Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State
for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: "Reducing the potential loss
per spin from £100 to £2 is a significant step forward in
protecting vulnerable people. The Government's actions and ambitions stretch
much further and we are looking at further treatment of those who have suffered
from gambling-related harm, whether gambling on credit should be limited and
considering what actions are necessary to tackle problem gambling online."
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The Gambling Commission is looking
closely at player protection on other high street machines. Data indicates that
the risks associated with Category B1 and B3 machines merit close scrutiny the
reason why the Commission said last year in its advice to Government that it
wanted to explore player protection options further.
Those options include tracking play,
using time and monetary limits and alerts, and communicating messages about
gambling safely.
Elsewhere, the Gambling Commission
is tightening up rules for online gambling and in May new identity and age
check rules come into force which will guard against the risk of children
gambling, prevent children from playing free-to-play versions of gambling games
on licensees websites, and increase the likelihood that someone will be
identified if they attempt to gamble while self-excluded.
The Gambling Commission is also
currently examining new areas for potential change including banning the use of
credit cards for online gambling, the introduction of industry funded gambling
blocking software, and improving the ways operators interact with a customer
who may be experiencing gambling-related harm.
In addition, next month the
Commission will be launching its new national strategy to reduce gambling harms
- focusing the priorities for the Commission and partners to support prevention
and treatment.
For further information CONTACT:
Press office on 0121 230 6700 or email:
communications@gamblingcommission.gov.uk.
SOURCE: Gambling Commission.
EGBA:
Europes Single Market Rules Need to Be Better Enforced to Benefit
Consumers
BRUSSELS, Belgium (March 25, 2019)
-- Today the European Council meeting in Brussels invited the Commission to
come forward with a long-term action plan for better implementation and
enforcement of Europes Single Market rules.
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The European Gaming and Betting
Association (EGBA) welcomes the Councils statement and urges the incoming
European Commission and Parliament to focus on ensuring the Single Market rules
are better implemented and enforced to benefit European consumers, particularly
in the online environment.
The Councils conclusions are
timely and justified. Despite the Digital Single Market being high up the
political agenda over the past years, it has not been sufficiently developed to
enable Europes citizens to benefit from the full potential of a truly
functional and integrated online Single Market.
The Council aims to correct this
with its call on the Commission, as Guardian of the Treaties, to focus on
ensuring that the existing rules and freedoms of the Single Market are properly
implemented for the benefit of EU consumers.
Making the Digital Single Market
work for EU citizens who bet or play poker online is crucial because
today they are less well protected than a person who buys a plane ticket or a
book online. A recent study by the City University of London attributed
Europes failure to protect online gamblers to the highly fragmented
nature of the national policy rules for online gambling. The study showed that
the Digital Single Market is failing to protect online gamblers and found that
only one country has fully implemented the Commissions guidelines aimed
at providing EU citizens a basic set on consumer protection measures dedicated
to responsible gambling.
Unfortunately, the Commission made
these matters worse when it, in 2017, decided to stop enforcing EU single
market law in the area of online gambling and systematically disregarded
legitimate legal complaints about breaches of EU law in the sector.
Classified
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In 2018, the Commission also
disbanded the regulatory cooperation between the 28 national gambling
authorities, leaving the sector without any structural dialogue on important
issues like consumer protection, fraud prevention and cross border
enforcement.
The Commissions decision is to
the continued detriment of EU consumers. Regardless whether they buy a book or
place a bet online, all consumers should benefit from equally applied and
enforced rules which protect them and their rights online.
It is 2019: if the EU is
really serious about making the digital single market work for its consumers,
then the Commission should enforce EU law in all online sectors, including
online gambling. We call on the Commission to fulfil its task as the Guardian
of the Treaties by enforcing EU law in the whole online environment. The
Commission should also reinstate the regulatory cooperation between Member
States in online gambling, to allow structured dialogue and help improve
cross-border cooperation and the protection of consumers. It is time for the
Commission to act. Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, European
Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA).
About EGBA
The European Gaming and Betting
Association (EGBA) is the Brussels-based trade association representing the
leading online gaming and betting operators established, licensed and regulated
within the EU, including bet365, BetClic, Betsson Group, Expekt, GVC Holdings
PLC, Kindred Group Plc, MRG, and ZEAL Network. EGBA works together with
national and EU authorities and other stakeholders towards a well-regulated
online gambling market which provides a high level of consumer protection and
takes into account the reality of the digital economy and consumer demand.
Today, EGBAs member companies together have more than 12 million
customers in Europe.
SOURCE: The European Gaming and
Betting Association (EGBA).
Arizona Lottery Springs Into New Opportunities with
a Familiar Brand and an Exclusive Second Chance Promotion
Players can turn their
house into the dream home, courtesy of The Home Depot® and the Arizona
Lottery
PHOENIX, Arizona (April 2, 2019)
Arizona Lottery players will soon have a chance to win the cash they
need to finally make those home improvements theyve always wanted with
the new Home Depot® $50,000 Makeover Money Scratchers® ticket.
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There is even a second chance
promotion for non-winning tickets, giving players even more opportunities to
dream big!
Heres how it works:
Starting April 2, Arizona Lottery players can be a step closer to fulfilling
their home makeover dreams by playing The Home Depot $50,000 Makeover Money
Scratchers game.
Each $5 ticket gives players the
chance to win up to fifteen times with a top prize of $50,000!
Players can also enter their
non-winning The Home Depot $50,000 Makeover Money Scratchers tickets into the
second chance drawing by visiting AZplayersclub.com, or by scanning their
tickets using the Arizona Lottery Players Club free mobile app (available for
download on the iTunes® App store and the Google Play store) for a
chance to win $500, $10,000 or $50,000 in The Home Depot gift cards to
transform their house into their dream home.
Spring is the perfect time
to think about all the things you can do to protect and enhance your largest
investment your home, Executive Director of the Arizona
Lottery Gregg Edgar said.
The Arizona Lottery is
proud to partner with The Home Depot and add to our players excitement
with this new Scratchers ticket and promotion.
Arizona Lottery players can purchase
their The Home Depot $50,000 Makeover Money tickets at all 3,000+ Arizona
Lottery retail locations. For more information visit ArizonaLottery.com.
The Arizona Lotterys Second
Chance Promotion is not affiliated with The Home Depot®. The Home
Depot is not a sponsor of this promotion.
The Home Depot is a registered
trademark of Home Depot Product Authority, LLC.
Scratchers® is a registered
service mark of the California Lottery.
About Arizona Lottery
Since 1981, the Arizona Lottery and
its retail partners have generated more than $4.1 billion in net funding in
support of programs that help to improve the quality of life for the people of
Arizona.
Proceeds from Lottery ticket sales
more than $4 million per week fund programs in education,
economic development, environmental conservation and health and human services.
The mission is to support Arizona programs for the public benefit by maximizing
net revenue in a responsible manner. Learn more at ArizonaLottery.com
CONTACT: John Turner Gilliland,
(480) 921-4438 desk, (602) 702-2758 cell, Email:
jgilliland@azlottery.gov.
SOURCE: Arizona Lottery.
Secure, Convenient Sports Betting Options Crucial to
Eliminating Illegal Market
New Report Highlights
Overwhelming Consumer Support for Legalized Sports Betting, Low Awareness of
Existing Legal Options
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 27, 2019) --
Today, as part of its first-ever Sports Betting Executive Summit, the American
Gaming Association (AGA) unveiled new research on current and future sports
betting behaviour. The findings reveal a strong consumer movement toward legal
sports betting, a need for more awareness of legal markets, and consumers
desire for secure, convenient options for wagering.
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Highlights from the new report,
Consumer Movement Toward Sports Betting: Current and Future Sports Betting
Behaviour Post-PASPA, include:
- Nearly 8-in-10 Americans say they support
legalizing sports betting in their state;
- Where casino sports betting is legal, only 56% are
aware that it is;
- More than 7-in-10 say its important to place
sports bets through legal, regulated providers and it is only acceptable to use
those providers;
- Only 41% of Americans know that placing a bet with
a bookie is illegal; and
- Security and ease of placing bets are the top two
priorities for future sports betting participation.
This is one of the most
comprehensive studies ever conducted on the attitudes and behaviours of sports
bettors in America, said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the
American Gaming Association.
AGAs research unveils
new insights into this critical and growing segment of the gaming market,
confirming what weve known for a long time: consumers want the ability to
wager in safe, regulated markets. With two-thirds of states having taken steps
to legalize sports betting, were clearly making progress to meet that
demand.
About the Research:
This survey was conducted on behalf
of the American Gaming Association by Heart + Mind Strategies between November
and December 2018 and comprised a total sample of 6,777 interviews among
various subgroups.
About AGA:
The American Gaming Association is
the premier national trade group representing the $261 billion U.S. casino
industry, which supports 1.8 million jobs nationwide. AGA members include
commercial and tribal casino operators, gaming suppliers and other entities
affiliated with the gaming industry. It is the mission of the AGA to achieve
sound policies and regulations consistent with casino gamings modern
appeal and vast economic contributions.
SOURCE: The American Gaming
Association.
Gambling Commission's Independent Advisory Board Renamed to
Reflect Sharper Focus on Safer Gambling
U.K. (April 1, 2019) -- Ahead of the
publication of the new National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms, the Gambling
Commission has announced that its independent advisors, the Responsible
Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), has been renamed as the Advisory Board for
Safer Gambling (ABSG).
The ABSG will provide independent
advice to the Commission as it works to implement the new strategy over the
next three years and ensure progress is made on reducing gambling harms.
Following the announcement last
November, new chair Dr Anna van der Gaag CBE has today taken over the position
from Sir Christopher Kelly who has come to the end of his tenure after six
years in the role.
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Anna van der Gaag, said: I
would like to thank Sir Christopher for his tremendous leadership and I am
delighted to be taking forward the work at this exciting time of change. Our
new name reflects the need for greater clarity about everyones roles in
the delivery of the new strategy.
Gambling harms are rightly
recognised as a public health issue and I welcome the Gambling
Commissions new strategy with its strong focus on both prevention and
treatment.
As the ABSG, we will be
bringing a renewed focus on the safety of consumers and prevention of harm,
helping to ensure consumers are free from the consequences of gambling harms,
that research priorities are high up the Commissions agenda, and that we
are listening and working closely with all our partners.
Neil McArthur, chief executive of
the Gambling Commission, added: We need to shift the focus from
responsible gambling to safer gambling. Responsible
gambling suggests that the individual customer is principally in charge of
keeping themselves safe. By focusing on safer gambling we want to emphasise
that there is a clear onus on gambling operators to protect their
customers.
The ABSG, led by Anna, will
continue to provide the crucial advice we need into the long-term delivery of
the new National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms which launches later this
month.
Further changes took place on the
ABSG board earlier this year with consumer protection specialist Louise Baxter
joining in January on a three-year term.
The ABSG provides independent advice
to the Gambling Commission on research, education and treatment programmes
needed to support a national gambling strategy and associated funding
requirements.
The National Strategy to Reduce
Gambling Harms will be launched by the Gambling Commission on 25 April.
SOURCE: Advisory Board for Safer
Gambling (ABSG).
Dong
Hang Lottery is Making History in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (April 3, 2019)
-- Dong Hang Lottery becomes the only company appointed by the
Korean Lottery
Commission of the Ministry of Finance and Strategy to operate lottery
service of various Korean lottery, including Lotto, Pension Lottery, Instant
Lottery and Electronic Lottery. Korean Lottery Commission has made a great
social contribution to the society, improving the lives of many by supporting
welfare, education and health programs. The company is also using blockchain
technology for their entire electronic lottery system.
Many people love playing the
lottery, especially Koreans. There are more than 80 million tickets of the
classic Lotto 6/45 sold every week, which goes to show how much it's enjoyed by
this culture.
According to the Korean Gallup
Research Institute, Koreans have a positive perception of the lottery and seven
adults out of 10 have purchased a lottery ticket at least once in their
lifetime. In South Korea, the lottery not only represents an important
financial business, but is also a healthy hobby for its citizens.
Jeju Semiconductor Corp., Korea
Electronic Finance, Snet Systems, Tobe Soft, KIS Information Communication,
Meta CNS, Nice Payments, K Bank, MBC Nanum and KCT formed a consortium as a way
to bid for the Lottery Trust Company. Dong Hang Lottery was the company chosen
among 3 bidders by the Korean Lottery Commission of the Ministry of Strategy
and Finance as now acts as the fourth-term lottery operator.
Jeju Semiconductor, the supervising
company of Dong Hang Lottery, specializes in designing ultra-small, low-power
memory semiconductors and is widely recognized for its technology and
reliability in the global market of low density memory semiconductor.
As a leading Korean memory
semiconductor fab-less, they export more than 80% of its sales.
Nice Group operates more than 25,000
cash dispenser machines and offline platforms for cash transfers among 40
branches, and employs more than 700 people.
KIS Information Communication
introduced the electronic signature system in the payment industry and created
the cash receipt system, while Nice Payments is known for being an online
payment and personal information security company.
Once Dong Hang Lottery took over,
they immediately set out to utilize blockchain technology for Internet sales
and their entire electronic lottery system as a while.
Since they first introduced the
innovative technology, significant changes have been made, such as integrating
IBM Security Software (which was a necessary adjustment in order to maximize
blockchain technology). Dong Hang Lottery has laid the foundation for the
ability to purchase lotto tickets online, allowing those living in remote
places, such as islands, mountains and other isolated areas, the chance to
purchase lottery tickets and try their luck at the winnings.
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Before, these marginalized people
might have never been able to participate in the Korean lottery unless they
physically bought tickets.
The reliability of the system is now
more secure than ever thanks to a number of improvements in its security system
due in part to blockchain technology. In addition, the lottery network for
Lotto 6/45 and Pension Lottery was changed to ensure a fair lottery.
To make the lottery more enticing
and exciting, there is a weekly live broadcast with a special personality that
announces the lottery drawings. Besides the lottery numbers, there is a number
of other performances, providing viewers a variety of attractions never seen
before as they await to see if they hold the lucky lottery tickets.
The lottery fund represents 42% of
the total amount of lottery sales, and is used for public interest projects,
such as housing projects for low-income families, cultural and arts promotion,
cultural heritage preservation projects, and welfare projects for
underprivileged citizens.
Last year, lottery sales were
roughly $4.3 billion USD and this in turn helped the Lottery Fund accumulate
$1.8 billion USD. Dong Hang Lottery has become a public trusted company since
their first took over the lottery, providing a more secure, transparent and
reliable lottery services.
Dong Hang Lottery CEO, Mr. Hyungsup
Cho, a former government official and judge, stated, "Dong Hang Lottery will
faithfully fulfill its social responsibilities based on morality and public
interest in order to establish a sound lottery culture in Korea. We plan to
continue the growth of the Korean lottery business by improving system of
lottery business, the distribution structure, and sustainable development of
products."
CONTACT: Ms. Woo, T:
+82-070-5001-2628.
SOURCE: Dong Hang Lottery.
ASA
Harnessing New Technology to Tackle Irresponsible Gambling Ads Targeted at
Children
LONDON, U.K. (April 4, 2019) -- We
have used new monitoring technology in the form of child avatars -
online profiles which simulate childrens browsing activity - to identify
ads that children see online. As a consequence, we have already taken action to
ban ads from five gambling operators which were served to child avatars on
childrens websites in clear breach of the UK Advertising Codes.
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Over a two week monitoring period
last year we identified ads by 43 gambling operators in non-logged-in, online
environments.
Five of those gambling operators,
NetEnt Product Ltd (Vikings Video Slot), Evoke Gaming Ltd (RedBet), Multilotto
UK Ltd, Platinum Gaming Ltd (Unibet) and Skill On Net Ltd (PlayOjo), broke the
strict advertising rules which prohibit gambling ads being targeted at
under-18s.
We collected data on the 10,754
times that ads were served to the child avatars (ad impressions*) across 24
childrens websites and 20 open-access YouTube channels. In total, we
found:
- Gambling ads were served to the child avatars on 11
of the childrens websites monitored
- 23 individual gambling ads were seen by the child
avatars on those 11 childrens websites a combined total of 151 times
1.40% of the total ad impressions
- One gambling operator (Vikings Video Slot) was
responsible for 10 ads and 122 of the ad impressions (81% of the 151)
- No gambling ads were served on any of the
open-access YouTube channels included in the research
The gambling operators have accepted
their ads broke the rules. In most instances, we were informed that the
problems arose due to errors by third-party companies who served the campaigns
on behalf of the operators. We have instructed the companies to take immediate
action to review their online ads, ensure they are not served to web users aged
below 18 years of age through the selection of media or context in which they
appear and to put in place measures to ensure this does not happen again.
We are now exploring whether this
monitoring and enforcement approach can be extended to logged-in environments
like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
We worked with an expert data,
analytics and technology consultancy to create seven online avatars. Their
profiles were designed to reflect the browsing characteristics of children aged
6-7, 8-12 and 16, an adult, a person of an indeterminate age, and a profile
reflecting the browsing behaviour of an adult and a child using the same
device.
This strand of work heralds the
beginning of a new phase in our regulation with the use of technology helping
to better protect children and vulnerable groups online. The new approach is
part of wider efforts to ensure action can be taken against irresponsible ads
without the need for members of the public to raise a complaint.
The findings from the avatar
research provide a snapshot of the ads that children are seeing online, with
invaluable data and real examples of where ads for age-restricted products are
appearing. They are also enabling us to take speedy action to enforce the rules
in respect of the small number of ads which are found to be targeted
irresponsibly.
We will now interrogate the
monitoring data further and report later this year in more detail. Further work
with child avatars will be undertaken to monitor exposure to online ads for
high fat, salt or sugar food and drink products, and alcohol.
Our Chief Executive Guy Parker
said:
Online ads are subject to
the same strict rules that apply elsewhere and this important new monitoring
capability delivers on our commitment to having more impact online. Its
already allowed us to spot a problem with a small number of gambling operators
and take quick and effective action to ensure children are protected from
irresponsibly-targeted gambling ads. Were already looking at expanding
this work, as well as exploring how other new technologies can help us protect
the public.
SOURCE: The Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA).
Registration for APLA/WLA Seminar 15 - 18 April 2019 in Danang,
Vietnam is Now Open!
Dear friends of APLA
We are pleased to announce that the
Registration for the 2019 APLA/WLA Seminar is now open!
The details for this event are as
follows:
- Date: 15 18 April 2019 (Business Program on
16 17 April)
- Venue: Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa,
Danang, Vietnam
- Theme: Lotteries in the digital world -
Disintermediation, Disruption or Transformation
This Seminar is being hosted and
organized by both Singapore Pools Private Limited and Vietnam Lottery
(Vietlott). You can expect a very exciting business program line up and an
interesting experiential social program specially recommended by Vietlott.
A renowned industry leader Mr. Tim
Kobe (Founder of Eight Inc,), who is popularly known as the visionary behind
Apples iconic stores has been specially invited to be our Keynote
Speaker. To quote an article, Kobe believes that studying the humanities
can help build empathy. A lack of empathy often goes hand-in-hand with a lack
of awareness about the human experience that a particular piece of technology
creates, which will restrict its widespread adoption, thus preventing true
innovation. Tech companies and products, even entire countries, Kobe said, need
to be designed with human experience in mind.
Various Industry experts will also
present on how we can captivate and reach out to the Digital Natives via
channels that are pervasive to them.
Panelists comprising of
representatives from WLA and APLA will also present on how digitalization have
brought forth both opportunities and challenges to the Lottery industry.
We hope you will take home nuggets
of knowledge and updates and embark onto your own Organisations
transformational journey if you have not already started.
The Networking day will take us to
Ba Na Hills, an area founded by the French colonials at 1919 and only lately,
investors have transformed this whole place which is now referred to as the
climate pearl of Vietnam. It's located 1487m above the ground and
boasts of chiller weather and fresh air.
Check out the
ebrochure and also keep checking the APLA website for more
announcements (www.asiapacific-lotteries.com).
Do hurry and register and as they
say, Early Bird catches the worm
..
N.B. It is important to note that
for the Hotel booking link, you can only book for nights from 15th to 18th
April. If you need to arrive before 15th or stay past 18th, you will need to
email to the hotel to request the room booking extension, the special room
rates are valid from 12th to 21st April.
See you all in Danang.
Regards
Beh Swan Swan
APLA Secretariat Administrator
www.asiapacific-lotteries.com
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