Georgia considering instituting online lottery
Georgia lawmakers are considering creating a first-in-the-nation online lottery that would allow people to buy a ticket without having to stop in at a convenience store or a gas station.
"We're trying to target a market that may not be part of the lottery now -- techies or professional people tied to computers all day," said state Rep. Terry Barnard.
Barnard's bill, scheduled for a vote Thursday, would create a Web site where people could play up to $5 a day on debit or credit cards. Under existing law, lottery sales are strictly cash-only.
Lottery officials are skeptical about online sales, which are complicated by federal gambling laws.
"There is some uncertainty about whether it's legal," lottery spokesman J.B. Landroche said.
GTECH in middle of mess in Brazil
GTECH Holdings Corp., a Rhode Island-based information technology company and the world's biggest supplier of online lottery systems, is under fire in Brazil for secret meetings its executives had last year with Waldomiro Diniz, one of the president's top congressional relations strategists.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired Diniz after Brazilian TV stations aired a video earlier this month that showed him shaking down a Brazilian gaming magnate for campaign contributions and a personal cut for himself.
The bribery, which Diniz acknowledged, occurred in 2002, before da Silva took office.
GTECH, the U.S.-based lottery supplier, came into the picture on Jan. 6, 2003, less than a week into da Silva's term. Diniz went to the luxurious Blue Tree Hotel, next to Planalto, to meet with GTECH'S then-president of Brazilian operations, Antonio Carlos Rocha, and its marketing chief, Marcelo Rovai. At the time, GTECH was locked in a dispute over the renewal of a $130 million contract to run lotteries overseen by the federal bank Caixa Economica Federal.
GTECH's dispute with the bank had begun when the previous administration sought to change the bidding rules when GTECH's contract expired.
Diniz officials arranged the meeting to discuss ways that he and GTECH could crack the lottery market in Sao Paulo, Brazil's richest state.
Less than two weeks after the first of five meetings, GTECH was granted a three-month contract extension, according to a news agency.
In a statement this week, GTECH Brasil denied any wrongdoing.
CCL rolls out Chinese soccer betting lottery game
Creator Capital Limited announced that its web site, www.worldwidelotteries-china.com, is now live and able to accept purchases for the PRC Soccer Betting Lottery.
According to CCL, World Wide Lotteries product will boost its entertainment roster, which includes Sky Games Gaming Software and Sky Play PC Amusement Games.
The operator claims that the new betting site is the only international portal to the Chinese soccer betting, or Toto-Style Lottery.
Bettors worldwide can now purchase tickets in a lottery sports book, which offers prizes up to $600,000. CCL says to win punters have to guess the outcomes of 13 soccer matches drawn from the British, Italian and German premier leagues.
Camelot unveils text-messaging lottery
The UK will have its first dedicated mobile phone-based lottery, operated by text message and online, by the end of the year.
Million-2-1, which is expected to seek a £50 million stock market float later this year, specializes in the technology for games and competitions using the internet and text messaging.
The game will launch on local lotteries in Manchester in May, followed by Leeds and Liverpool, and has been in contact with Mayor Ken Livingstone's office in London about its plans for the capital.
Punters simply text the local lottery, buy a ticket or tickets, then the numbers are texted back to their phones. Winners are also notified by mobile. Million-2-1 holds the only UK license to run a lottery via phone messaging.
Camelot rolls out online romantic themed lottery game
The National Lottery is offering users the chance to win up to £4,000 with the launch of Cash Couples, a new online Instant Win game with a romantic theme.
Cash Couples, running on Camelot's Web site, costs £1 per play. Players must reveal three couples in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row to win the prize indicated in the large heart-shaped panel in the center of the game.
Cash Couples is the latest chapter in an ongoing collaboration between National Lottery operator Camelot and NowWashYourHands, the company that designed the game. The agency has designed the recently launched Cash Machine game as well.
China issues new soccer lottery
China issued a new soccer lottery in February to allow fans to bet on how many goals could be scored by each of the 12 selected teams in a round of the ongoing ItalianSerie A. The goal-betting lottery, which started on February 18, is more difficult and challenging for fans to win than the win-tie-loss game that was issued on 2001.
In a goal-betting lottery ticket worth two Yuan, there are four options on each team, namely, goalless, one goal, two goals, and three goals and more.
Half of the turnover of one edition of the goal-betting lottery will be returned to the ticket buyers as part of the prize pool.
China Welfare Lottery rakes in sales
Since its inception in 1987, the China Welfare Lottery has collected 32.3 billion (about $3.9 billion) for public welfare funds, contributing to more than 120,000 public welfare projects nationwide.
Statistics show that welfare lottery sales in China exceeded 20 billion yuan (some $2.4 billion) in 2003, a rise of 3.2 billion ($390) over the previous year or up 19.05 percent.