China to Issue Rules on Lottery
China will issue its first national rules for the lottery industry next year in an effort to stamp out fraud, which has been on the rise since the country launched its first lottery two decades ago. Legislators are looking to other countries and regions to draw up the regulation. China has only provisional regulations on the management of lottery distribution and sales, issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2002.
In recent months, China has stepped up efforts to crack down on lottery fraud. And last month, four government ministries -- Finance, Public Security, Civil Affairs and Information Industry -- as well as the General Administration of Sport jointly launched a campaign to crack down on illegal lottery selling on the Internet.
The China Welfare Lottery Administrative Center and the sports lottery administrative center of the China General Administration of Sport are the only two legal lottery sellers in China and they are both state-run.
Intralot Warms Up to Text Betting
Intralot Director John Katakis has said he is open to SMS betting after the company's Victorian license takes effect in 2009, contradicting the previous statement of a fellow director. Intralot's Victorian lottery license, which was tabled in state parliament last week, contained details of new games as well as new ways to play the lottery games, including on mobile phones, the Internet and vending machines. But another director, Tony Sheehan, said last week that the company had no plans to introduce Internet or mobile lotteries. "They're things that could be done, but not things we are going to do," Sheehan said.
Svenska Spel and Boss Partner for the WLA
Svenska Spel and Boss Media have agreed to supply an unnamed, state-controlled operator with security and software solutions, respectively. The anonymous operator, a member of World Lottery Association, is to launch its own poker site in early 2008. For its efforts, the Swedish tandem will be compensated via an undisclosed percentage of the rake from the new site.
Scientific Games Moves into China
Scientific Games has completed the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Guard Libang, the China-based instant lottery ticket cooperative services provider, for an estimated $28 million. Guard Libang is an indirect subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Rex Capital Financial Holdings. Scientific Games said it expects the acquisition to be neutral to 2007 earnings though accretive in 2008.
Tipp24 Launches MyLotto
German operator Tipp24 AG in November went live with its mylotto.co.uk offering. “The United Kingdom is a natural place for Tipp24 AG to extend its global reach," said Carsten Frien, managing director of MyLotto24. "By giving British punters the chance to win jackpots far surpassing the current national lottery, we expect www.mylotto24.co.uk to be extremely popular."