Breathing New Life Into the National Lottery
Camelot is embarking on a massive re-launch of the U.K. National Lottery, which, at eight years old, is starting to seem "tired," says its chief executive.
The re-launch will cost a total of £72 million and will include an overhaul in advertising, in-store facilities and ticket design. While the lottery's trademark logo consisting of two crossed fingers will remain unchanged, the Wednesday and Saturday evening draws will from mid May
on be renamed "Lotto."
Diane Thompson, Camelot's chief executive, said the game needs "a bit of new life and reinvigoration." Scottish comedian Bill Connolly is slated to appear in the new advertisements.
South Carolina Lottery Sales Healthy But Declining
The South Carolina lottery, which in January succeeded in wresting its domain name away from a cybersquatter, is seeing strong results for its first three months of operation.
Lottery officials told the Associated Press that sales figures are stronger than those of other state lottery startups. However, the South Carolina is facing declining ticket sales: Since the game debuted in January, sales of scratch-off tickets have fallen 47 percent from their mid-January high of $19.5 million.
Pick 3 sales have also declined, dropping 14 percent from mid-March to mid-April. Ernie Passailaigue, lottery director, said officials expected the decrease in sales after the lottery's first few months in operation.
Underground Lottery Alive in Jakarta
Jakarta's underground lottery is one of the city's largest illegal industries, the Jakarta Post reported on April 18.
Often the operators are supported by corrupt police and military officers, who can reap billions of rupiah each month in payoff money. One officer whom the newspaper interviewed said he could receive at least 10 million rupiah per night from operating the Singapur and Malaysia lotteries.
The underground lottery grosses about 200 million rupiah a night, the newspaper reported.
Hans Off to Chair SA Lotteries Commission
The South Australian Lotteries Commission recently appointed Hans Ohff, former head of the Australian Submarine Corp., as its chairman.
Ohff will receive AU $27,200 per year, in addition to an attraction and retention allowance of $2,200, as compensation. He had been managing director of Australian Submarine Corp. from 1994 until January of this year.
A government spokeswoman said Government Enterprises Minister Patrick Conlon is pleased that Ohff accepted the position.
"It reflects the new government's position on the value of the Lotteries Commission in SA," the spokeswoman said.