I-Lottery Update - January
As one of the world's most popular forms of gambling, lotteries have successfully made the shift to the interactive arena. Once a month, IGN's I-Lottery Update delivers an international roundup of the latest news from this burgeoning sector of the industry.
German Operators Out?
German commercial lottery operators Fluxx AG and Tipp24 AG say they may abandon their home market if the country's 16 states pass a new law to uphold a monopoly on gambling and effectively ban private operators. Tipp24 said in November that it is preparing to expand in to at least one other European market to lessen its dependence on Germany. Fluxx and Tipp24 make a profit by charging state-owned lottery commissions for selling tickets to consumers on the Internet.
Lotteries Boosting Ontario Economy
The Toronto Star reports that lotteries are still the biggest source of gambling revenue for the Ontario government, far outpacing casinos and slot machines at race tracks. The newspaper said the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. sold $2.3 billion in lottery tickets and instant scratch games in 2004-05. Meanwhile, the province's four commercial casinos combined pulled in almost $1.6 billion in revenues in the last fiscal year, and charity casinos and slot machines at racetracks earned $1.9 billion.
Philippines SMS Lottery Scam
Local media reports in December 2006 said a significant number of consumers received text messages from an alleged officer of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), complete with a Department of Trade & Industry permit number, informing them that they had won a prize from the PCSO's Millionaires game. According to the Philippine Information Agency, PCSO Chief Lottery Operations Officer Zenaida Delantar said the text messages did not come from her office and warned the public that anonymous individuals are using the PCSO office as a front, asking consumers to deposit a nominal fee into a bank account to be used for administrative expenses on the prize. Delantar further said the PCSO never uses SMS messages to inform PCSO winners, but instead sends a written official notice.
Veikkaus Celebrates 10 Years on the Net
Finnish state gambling operator Veikkaus in December celebrated 10 years of betting via the Internet. Veikkaus's Web site currently welcomes around 100,000 daily visitors. This fall, the group attained the weekly Internet sales record of 4.8 million euros--nearly 17 percent of the group's total weekly sales. Veikkaus officially introduced Internet gaming to customers on March 10, 1997. In the beginning, the monopolist only offered betting games. The selection was increased gradually, and lotto was launched in June 1997. By March 1999, the company's entire catalog of games was available on the Net. For the period of January through September 2006, total sales for the company amounted to 997 million euros, and 147 million euros of that came from Internet sales.
New Welfare Lottery in China
The China Lottery Administration (CLA) will introduce on July 1, 2007 a new welfare lottery called "Seven Happiness," as reported by the China News Service (CNS). According to the CNS, a CLA spokesperson said there will be a total bonus of 12 million yuan for top-prize winners in the first eight rounds of the lottery, and 1.5 million for other winners in each round. But, if there is no top-prize winner in a certain round, the bonus is rolled over to the next round.
South African NLB Declares Charity Lottery Unlawful
The National Lotteries Board (NLB) of South Africa has taken the South African Children's Charity Trust and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to court, seeking an order declaring Wini-Khaya an unlawful lottery. Board Chairman Joseph Foster said in court papers that the Trust--which raised funds for several charities, including the Red Cross Society, Reach for a Dream Foundation and Cotland's Baby Sanctuary--and SABC were knowingly contravening the Lotteries Act by operating an unlawful lottery. He said the lottery, which could be entered via SMS to win a home loan and certain cash prizes, was not a promotional competition as it did not promote the sale or use of any goods or services and was similar to National Lottery cash prizes, thus contravening the Act and its regulations. The NLB also seeks an injunction against the SABC prohibiting it from promoting and broadcasting the competition. The suit, however, was postponed indefinitely in the Pretoria High Court in early December.
Tattersall's Ups Bid for Talarius
Australian gaming company Tattersall's and Australia's Macquarie Bank in late November launched a £137.2 million bid for Talarius, in the hopes of bidding for the next U.K. National Lottery license. On Friday they increased the offer by 10p a share to 280p a share, raising the value by £5.1 million to £142.3 million--reportedly enough to lock down the deal. Tattersall's said on Tuesday it had now secured "irrevocable undertakings" and a "non-legally binding letter of intent" from major shareholders, which would take consent to about 59.9 percent, compared to the 38.6 percent it secured in November. Tattersall's said it will look at further consolidation opportunities in Britain once the Talarius deal is secured.
Exclusive Lottery Product
Hamburg-based retail company Tchibo GmbH and German lottery company Tipp24 AG are offering a lottery product exclusively for Tchibo customers. The product is offered at a price of 19.99 euro and is available at Tchibo's nearly 1,000 stores throughout Germany as well as the company's online store, tchibo.de. The lottery ticket is valid for 12 weeks.