Internet Gaming Up for Swedish Lottery
Internet gaming increased more than 250 percent in 2001 for Svenska Spel, a government-run lottery in Sweden.
Svenska Spel's net sales increased 11.8 percent to 1,658.5 million euro. The lottery's profits also rose, even though the organization has made substantial investments in Casino Cosmopol, its digital TV and Internet venture. Meg Tiveus, Svenska Spel's CEO, said the results highlight the group's success with new technology.
"Higher profits despite extensive investments for the future in the new international casinos and new technologies are proof of the company's strength," she said.
Svenska Spel's video lottery terminal sales rose 51.2 percent over the previous year.
No Online Lotto in Singapore. . . Yet
Singapore Pools warned in early March that it is not sanctioned to offer online lottery ticket sales until all of its concerns are addressed.
The Straits Times reports that Singapore residents lined up for more than an hour's wait to buy lottery tickets for the recent $12 million jackpot.
Singapore Pools, the country's 4-D and Toto operator, said it is keeping track of the technological trends in gaming, including Internet gambling, but would not offer online betting yet. A
spokesman for the company said there is a "moral factor" involved.
Lottery Side Bets a Problem in Hong Kong
Side betting on lotteries isn't just a concern in the United Kingdom.
In Hong Kong, illegal betting on the results of the Mark Six lottery is said to be infringing on the profits of local lotteries, the Agence France-Presse reports. The Mark Six lottery is managed by Hong Kong's horse racing organization. It is broadcast on television and can be watched
in south China via satellite.
In the past two months, Guangdong police have arrested 1,487 people allegedly involved in betting on the results of the Mark Six.
Gambling for money is illegal in China, but the country's authorities have been gradually introducing lotteries since the 1980s because they are an ample source of revenue for the government. In Guangdong's Raoping district, the amount of money spent on lottery tickets plunged to 2.2 million yuan last year, significantly lower than the 8.1 million spent in 1999.
Last week, the U.K. government's response to the Budd Gambling Review Report included a recommendation against allowing legal side bets on the National Lottery for fear the side bets would deplete lottery ticket sales.
IGT Forms Lottery Division
Reno-based International Game Technology announced March 19 that it is forming a lottery division.
The new division will house the companies that IGT acquired in December 2001 from Anchor Gaming, including AWI, VLC and United Tote. They will remain under the direction of Christer Roman, president of the lottery division.
The lottery arm with join IGT's North America and International gaming divisions as the third section of the company.
Cash for Life Means Taxes for Life, Too
Winnings from Camelot's new Cash for Life lottery game will be taxed, the lottery announced recently.
Cash for Life is the National Lottery's newest scratch-card game. It awards 10 winners £2,000 a month for the rest of their lives. A Camelot spokeswoman said it will be the first lottery game that
will require winners to pay taxes on their windfall.
The spokeswoman said the first monthly installment is tax free.
"It is a different way of playing and obviously this will see people through for the rest of their lives," she said. "It is quite early, but we hope it will be a success."
The scratch cards have been available since March 9 and cost £2 each.
Rimpac Launches InternetLOTO.com Promotion
At the beginning of March, Rimpac Resources Ltd. announced the launch of a promotional Web site for its upcoming InternetLOTO.com.
The lottery site will sell tickets from lotteries around the world and provide webcasts of drawings.
Thomas M. Johnson, president and CEO of Rimpac, said the Web site will provide a valuable service for lottery players who would like to purchase tickets via the Internet instead of waiting in line at a store.
"For lottery players around the world with Internet access, this process is simple, convenient, private, secure and exciting," he said.