Scientific Games inks deal with North Dakota Lottery
Scientific Games Corporation announced on Wednesday that it won a bid to provide on-line systems and services to the North Dakota Lottery.
The deal has an estimated value of $12.8 million over the initial term of seven years and is subject to the execution of a final contract.
The North Dakota Lottery is scheduled to begin selling Powerball tickets on March 25, 2004, and plans to add Hot Lotto and Wild Card 2 later that year. Scientific Games will be responsible for the installation of the central system, approximately 325 retailer terminals, as well as the satellite-based communications system.
South African Lotto tickets available through eBucks.com
After months of negotiations officials with Uthingo Management, the licensed operator of the National LOTTO, announced tickets will now be available through the eBucks.com Web site.
As part of the deal members of the eBucks rewards program will be able to use their eBucks rewards to purchase the tickets online.
There are currently 640,000 registered eBucks members and $25.5 million worth of eBucks in circulation.
Users were able to start using their reward points to purchase lottery tickets on Nov. 24, and the feature is expected to be popular since the wait to purchase tickets at land-based locations can often be very long due to lengthy lines.
Various purchase options are available allowing customers to decide how much they want to spend and how many draws they want to enter. Directly after the purchase the customer will receive e-mail confirmations from eBucks and Uthingo, plus a hard copy certificate that will be mailed to the individual.
Camelot's profits soar in first half of fiscal year
Figures released last month show that profits for the company that operates the national lottery in the UK, Camelot, improved by more than 50 percent in the first half of the fiscal year that ended in September compared to last year.
Figures show that profits rose to nearly £27 million for the first half of the year despite sales of the main Lotto draw continuing a study decline.
The increased profit came from other games, which represented 29 percent of total sales between July and September, a 5 percent increase from the previous quarter of this year. Camelot is relying on sales of these non-Lotto games to turn around overall sales in the National Lottery.
Sales for July to September were £1.1 billion, matching the two previous quarters.
Roosevelt ancestor receives award from GoodLot
The granddaughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Anna E. Roosevelt, was presented with a check for $10,000 from GoodLot, the online charity gaming site based in the UK.
The check was presented to Roosevelt at the Roosevelt Four Freedom Awards weekend in Hyde Park, New York in late November.
The Four Freedom Award is based on the four essential freedoms that were defined by the late U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
With its unique online betting fundraising, GoodLot aims to contribute to the education of the struggle for freedom.
Anna said that the donation will benefit an interactive learning project on freedom and human rights, following the footsteps of her grand parents and their establishment of the United Nations.
Tennessee teams up with heavyweights to roll out lottery product
Tennessee's lottery will have two industry giants -- GTECH Corp. and Scientific Games International -- create and run its games for the first seven years.
The Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. board unanimously voted last month to award the contracts based on the recommendation of an internal committee that spent a month reviewing proposals.
GTECH got the contract for online games; Scientific Games will run the instant ticket games.
The value of the contracts is based on a percentage of net sales. Tennessee lottery officials said they got a much better deal than other states.
Lottery chief Rebecca Paul said if the games bring in $900 million in the first year -- an aggressive estimate, she said -- GTECH would get $10.5 million, and Scientific Games would make $5.6 million.
Scientific Games estimates its contract is worth about $80 million over seven years.
Tennessee officials hope to launch the lottery's instant ticket games by Feb. 10 and the online games within 60 days afterward. Paul said the agreements with GTECH and Scientific Games make it more likely the games will be in place early.
The lottery is expected to raise at least $88 million by June 30 to pay for scholarships for an estimated 65,000 students attending Tennessee colleges and universities next fall.
Russian President signs bill legislating lotteries
President Vladimir Putin signed a bill last month that finally gives some direction to the lottery industry, which had for years been operating without any clear regulations.
The law lays out the requirements to obtain a license, spells out the rights of lottery players and creates for the first time a state register of lottery operators. The government will use at least 10 percent of all lottery revenues to finance projects for culture, sports, science and health.
The law passed three readings in the State Duma and was approved by the Federation Council before being sent to Putin's desk.
EGET makes inroads in Swedish market
European Game & Entertainment Technology Ltd Ab (EGET), a Finnish supplier of interactive gaming solutions, completed its Internet gaming system and three instant games to the newly established Swedish gaming operator Sperospel.se
Sperospel.se is the first company to obtain an Internet gaming license from the Swedish National Gaming Board.
Sperospel.se will initially offer three appealing instant Internet games including Femman, Sperolotten and Casinolotto.
EGET's WinOne Gaming System was also tabbed as the backbone system to run the www.sperospel.se gaming site.
ECJ rules against Finland in lottery tax case
The European Union's highest court last month ruled Finland couldn't impose taxes on earnings from foreign lotteries while its national lotteries aren't taxed.
The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice backed a Finnish woman who had won €108,000 on the Swedish lottery and refused to pay taxes on it.
Even though the Finnish lottery isn't taxable, the lucky winner was asked to pay national, local, parish and sickness insurance taxes on her winnings. Instead, the woman took the authorities to court.
In its ruling, the court said E.U. law "prohibits a member state's legislation under which winnings from games of chance organized in other member states are treated as income of the winner chargeable to income tax, whereas winnings from games of chance conducted in the member state in question are not taxable."