A WFP Lottery
The United Nations is said to be planning a global lottery to raise about $500 million a year to combat hunger in Africa, Asia and Latin America. According to Bloomberg, the UN's World Food Program (WFP) wants to begin selling lottery scratch cards for 1 euro that would reveal a cash prize or a commitment to funding a UN program, such as meals for children. The WFP would like to begin the program within the next year, and France and Spain have reportedly agreed to market the tickets.
Lottomatica Set to Close GTECH Deal
Italian lottery group Lottomatica is expected to wrap up the financing for its takeover of U.S.-based GTECH within a month and will close the deal in June. Lottomatica is financing the acquisition with a $2.76 billion syndicated loan, a 1.4 billion euro rights issue and a 60-year hybrid bond worth 750 million euro. The transaction will create a company with 6,300 employees and operations in over 50 countries. GTECH CEO Bruce Turner will take over as head of the new company, and Lottomatica Chairman and CEO Rosario Bifulco will step down. GTECH will continue to operate as a separate entity within the group.
A Finnish Minute
Finnish gaming monopoly Veikkaus has produced a new series of TV films highlighting all the ways its funds benefit Finns. The "60 seconds" series features 13 one-minute films, directed by widely recognized Finnish film directors, profiling famous Finns in various fields of culture. The Finnish film industry, for example, receives nearly €14 million each year from Veikkaus funds. The films will be broadcast on TV in conjunction with the Saturday Lotto draw.
Malawi Debuts National Lottery
The Malawi government in April introduced the National Lottery, which is said to help provide funding for five areas: the arts; charities; sports and recreation; culture; national heritage; and emergencies. According to National Lotteries Board Chairman Rhino Chiphiko, proceeds of the lottery will be deposited in a National Lottery Distribution Fund, out of which 30 percent will go to government, 50 percent will be returned to players in prizes and 20 percent will go into the running of the lottery. "Our aim is basically identifying alternative funding to activities that suffer most of the times because they are not included in the national budget," Chiphiko said. "We strongly believe that lottery will bring major changes to the lives of winners."
Coming Next Monday: Monday
A British weekly Internet lottery launched in April is expected to raise as much as £150 million a year for U.K. charities. Run by charity lottery firm Chariot plc, Monday - the Charities Lottery, "The Lottery for Unlucky People," will benefit 70 British charities by donating 30p for every £1 spent, and players choose the beneficiaries. The money raised will benefit only larger charities that Chariot believes have the infrastructure to manage the expected donations and are disadvantaged by the National Lottery's grants system. It is also excluding all arts, sport and heritage charities because it feels they are well served by three of the four National Lottery distributors. "We have concentrated on those names the man in the street feels get a raw deal from existing lotteries," Kim Darton, deputy director of charity partners at Chariot, explained. "We are looking only for mainstream charities that people think are the most in need." Founded by ex-employees of U.K. National Lottery operator Camelot, Monday has two draws instead of one, increasing the chances of winning and the player(s) with the nearest match to the six winning numbers will get the jackpot. There are no rollovers, guaranteeing jackpot winners every week. And instead of awarding huge cash prize to just one player, Monday will give bigger cash prizes for matching three, four and five numbers. The first draw will be held May 8.
Not Pleased with Monday
Not everyone loves Monday. Smaller charity groups are not happy with the new lottery's inclusion of only "mainstream" charities. Kevin Curley, CEO of the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service, said the association is hoping the organizers will "rethink these criteria, which discriminate against most local charities."
Camelot, meanwhile, is denying Monday's claim that the chances of winning the Monday lottery are 27 times greater than those of winning Camelot's Lotto. Camelot challenged the statement by arguing that the odds of winning £130,000 on Lotto are one in 317,814 compared to one in 501,000 of winning £100,000 with Monday.
Not Pleased with Jowell
Angry MPs are challenging U.K. Culture Minister Tessa Jowell over the government's decision to give £1 million in lottery grants to Manchester United and other organizations to improve staff fitness. Tory MP Bob Spink said the money should go to charities and vulnerable people instead of the wealthy soccer club, and Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans called the decision to give the money to United one of the most obscene awards ever given by the lottery. But Jowell said the decision was not up to the ministers, rather it was that of U.K. lottery distributors and the regional board of Sport England, which wants firms to boost the fitness of their workers. She also pointed out that the grant was being matched by cash from the club. Sports Minister Richard Caborn backed up Jowell, saying he was fully involved in the decision to give the lottery grants. He also said he believed the decision by Sport England to award the money to organizations such as Manchester United and Granada Television illustrated how the agency was willing to think "out of the box."
Secrecy in SA
The license to run the South African lottery is up for review, and the National Lotteries Board (NLB) is finalizing the evaluation of the bids for the new license. But the names of the bidding companies are being kept under wraps, and the South African media are outraged. Four consortiums are bidding: Uthingo Management, which holds the current license; Nik' Abantu; Igwija Gaming; and Gidani. NLB spokesperson Sershan Naidoo said the bidding companies are prevented from discussing their bids or partners with anyone, including the media. "We are not at liberty to discuss details of the parties that make up the consortiums," said Naidoo. The NLB hopes to finish the evaluations by the end of May, followed by license negotiations between the board and the preferred bidder. The new license is expected to be signed by Sept. 30.
Major Blunder Could Cost Korean Lottery Operator
Kookmin Bank of South Korea is reportedly facing a class action suit after mistakenly leaking its online lottery customers' private information in a circular e-mail. A law firm has filed a civil lawsuit with the Seoul District Court on behalf of 414 of the bank's customers, demanding a total of W1.242 billion (US$1.2 million), or W3 million for each victim, in compensation, alleging severe psychological stress. The bank reportedly sent an attachment that contained the resident registration numbers, names and e-mail addresses of some 32,000 customers to 3,700 members of its online lottery Web site on March 15. A spokesperson for the law firm said there are several confirmed cases of identity theft as a result.
INTRALOT to Operate Greek Public Welfare Lottery
The government of Greece has granted a joint venture between Greek gaming company INTRALOT and ChinaTrust Commercial Bank (CTCB) in Taiwan a license to operate the Public Welfare Lottery. INTRALOT will provide IT system, along with the necessary maintenance services for the lottery for seven years at a cost of approximately 35 million euro.