South Korean Lottery Slashes Prices
Officials with the South Korean lottery announced plans to slash the price of lottery tickets, a move lauded by many consumers, but also plans to reduce winning jackpots, a decision likely to face some criticism.
The Korea Herald last week reported that the price of lotto tickets will drop from 2,000 won ($1.70) to 1,000 won ($0.85) each starting in August. The biggest jackpot of the national lottery, meanwhile, will be halved.
Lotto, introduced last year, accounted for as much as 90 percent of all lottery sales throughout 2003.
Spain to Host First EuroMillions Draw
Although it isn't the Europe-wide lottery that many hoped for, the first every EuroMillionsDraw is on track to debut this month.
The draw will take place in Spain on Feb. 13, provided Spanish officials give final approval.
Camelot of Britain, Francaise des Jeux of France and Loterias y Apuestas del Estado in Spain will jointly run EuroMillions. England's National Lottery Commission is expected to approve the game within days.
For a wager of 2 euro (nearly US$2.50), 15 million euro (US$18.6 million) will be on offer every Friday in "EuroMillions. The U.K. price will fluctuate according to the exchange rate.
Veikkaus Resumes Fixed-Odds Betting
Finnish gaming monopoly Veikkaus announced that it will revise its fixed-odds betting system this month in hopes of increasing business among Finnish customers.
Veikkaus will increase odds and will also place doubles and singles on sale at retailers.
The payback in fixed-odds betting will be increased to 88 percent, which means odds will rise. Players can pick 1-6 objects, and most of the selections can be played as double and singles and will be offered daily.
The goal is to increase the popularity of fixed-odds betting and attract Finnish customers who have started playing abroad. Finns bet an estimated 50 million euro a year abroad.
Private Lotto in Malta Getting Close
In an in-depth interview with the Telegraph of Malta, the country's Finance Minister, John Dalli, said he is optimist about the economic future for 2004 for Malta and indicated that the national lottery will be privatized soon.
"We have to remember we are not some Eastern European country or France, which still has a massive public sector," he said. "Privatization has to translate into an economic spin-off, and that's why I'm cautious. But the Lotto Department privatization agreement should be signed this month."
Once the agreement is signed, he said, plans for a private lottery can be exercised, but it won't be available for the public until all the proper regulatory and licensing measures are in place--a process that could extend into the summertime.
Texas Lottery Goes High-Tech
Lottery officials in Texas plan to install about 1,000 ATM-like units at retail outlets across the state that will dispense tickets for such games as Lotto Texas, Mega Millions and Cash Five.
The machines will not only sell tickets, but they will also scan tickets from previous drawings and tell players whether they've won any money.
"We think the players will like them," said lottery spokesman Bobby Heith. "You can purchase your tickets and check to see if you have a winner without taking up the retailer's time."
In an open letter to players on the lottery's Web site, lottery director Reagan Greer said the self-service terminals should be up and running by August. The terminals will be similar to the instant ticket, or scratch-off game, vending machines already operational at some lottery retail locations.
Lottomatica to Increase Instant Lottery Sales in 2004
Italian lottery and betting operator Lottomatica plans to double its instant lottery sales to 300 million tickets in 2004 by increasing its points of sale from 15,000 to 35,000 and investing 10 million euro in advertising.
Lottomatica is heading a consortium with a six-year exclusive state concession for an instant (scratch-card) lottery, which it expects to increase its turnover by 15 million euro in 2004.
U.S. counterpart Scientific Games, with a 20 percent stake, and other minority shareholders, flanks Lottomatica's 63 percent stake in the consortium.
GoodLot.com Pokes Fun at Camelot
Dutch-owned charity gaming site GoodLot.com signed its first U.K. deal, taking a good-natured swipe at Camelot, operator of the U.K. National Lottery, in the process.
An e-mail and banner ad campaign to Bananalotto users was set up to drive customers to the arcade section of GoodLot, where the main instant win game is a virtual camel race called "Camel Lot."
GoodLot owner Novamedia said it raised over £2.1 million from its games in the Netherlands and Sweden for organizations such as Amnesty International.
Camelot Attacks Government Licensing Plans
Camelot has attacked U.K. government proposals to award separate licenses to run various parts of the lottery.
Michael Grade, Camelot's chairman, told a Commons committee that the plans, outlined in July 2003 would lead to less money going to good causes. The government has argued that each type of lottery should require its own license.