eLOT Granted Patent for Online Lottery System
Lottery application provider eLOT Inc. is getting a U.S. patent on its software that makes sales of lottery tickets via the Internet easier by supplying a screening and verification function.
The patent, which the company announced today, applies to eLOT's system that allows players to receive ticket information, screens and verifies the eligibility of players based on state regulations, stores player and ticket information and upon receiving winning numbers from the
state, and determines the winning tickets and alerts winning players.
President and CEO Edwin McGuinn said the patent puts eLOT in a good position should the U.S. government make the sale of lottery tickets via the Internet legal.
"We believe that the present legislative climate in Washington appears very favorable to exempting state lotteries from any prospective Internet gambling legislation," McGuinn said. "Therefore, when one combines our Internet technology with this new patent, we will be able to offer lotteries in the United States the best Web-based e-commerce solutions."
Camelot Sales Down Due to License Bid
The British National Lottery contributed to its downturn in ticket sales by not investing in marketing the lottery last year until it was granted a second license, the Financial Times reported on Nov. 28.
Ticket sales plunged 5.4 percent to £4.2 billion in the six months to Sept. 30. Online tickets sales were the worst affected, declining 7 percent to £2.11 billion. Scratch cards, however, showed good results, with sales increasing 7 percent to £290 million after the popularity of the first £1 million prize for a scratch card winner.
Camelot benefits charities; it announced recently that it contributed £10.5 billion to good causes during its seven-year license. The lottery's finance director, Tony Jones, said Camelot was distracted from making the investment needed to drive sales by the re-bidding for a new license. The process took three times longer than expected.
"We weren't making the investment because we didn't know if we'd have a license," Jones said. "It was only in December that we could press the button on plans for new games."
Italian Lottery Ask For Rejection of Takeover Offer
Lottomatica has asked Consob, the Italian stock market regulator, to reject Italian publishing house De Agostini's bid to take over the betting group.
Antonio Belloni, managing director of De Agostini, said the takeover on Lottomatica was not hostile. Belloni said the offer was initiated by Tyche, which is controlled by De Agostini, as well as other companies the publishing company owns.
Lottomatica asked Consob to turn down the offer on account of De Agostini owning too many companies that are involved in the lottery operation.
Ohio Lottery Hires Leslie Nielsen
Facing an $11 million downturn in lottery business for the year as more and more gamblers turn to state casinos instead of lotteries, the Ohio Lottery is bringing in a celebrity spokesman to boost its popularity.
Leslie Nielsen, who played a detective in the "Naked Gun" movies and a spy in "Spy Hard," was hired recently by the lottery to do commercials.
The character he will play in commercials "talks about things that are inane, doing it with gravity and seriousness," said Nielsen, who will earn $250,000 for the gig. "But it doesn't make any sense. I've always enjoyed doing that."
Ontario Lotto Awards Contract to Scientific Games
Scientific Games International was recently chosen by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. to supply its next generation of on-line lottery terminals and software. The contract is worth $47 million to Scientific Games.
The OLGC has about 7,800 lottery machines in Ontario. Design of the terminals will incorporate OGLC's plans for an Internet-based lottery terminal network sometime in the near future. The organization operates lotteries, casinos and slot machines at horse tracks throughout Ontario and since 1975 has give more than $14 billion to charitable causes including health care, amateur sports and cultural activities.
Lorne Weil, chairman and CEO of Scientific Games, said the new terminals will bring the Ontario lottery to the forefront of lottery technology.
"The introduction of the new, on-line lottery terminal's 'thin client' capability represents another exciting opportunity to greatly expand the role played by lottery terminals in the retail marketplace," he said.
Koreans to Choose Own Lotto Numbers
Starting next year, South Koreans will be able to choose their own lottery numbers instead of having a machine assign them.
Kookmin Bank is overseeing the formation, management and marketing of the new lottery, which will grow from week to week if no one wins it. The project is backed seven government industries including the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs and the Labor
Industry. All of those agencies have the power to distribute lottery tickets.
To buy a customized lottery ticket, people will be able to choose six numbers between one and 49 and mark them on slips of paper available at special lottery terminals. The terminal will scan the number, record it and issue the bettor a receipt with the numbers on it.
Eom Ju-pil, a Kookmin bank official, said that although such a system might entice more people to gamble, such lotteries are approved of in other parts of the world.
"All 50 states in the United States have some form of lottery, and there are even two being run in China," he said.
A decision on how the lottery will be run is expected in January.