Tiger Pools to Develop India's First Online Lottery
The Internet branch of Tiger Pools International Co. is teaming with Shirfield Ltd., an Indian lottery firm, to bring its Internet and mobile lottery technology to India.
The Korea Times reported earlier this month that under the agreement, Tiger Pools is buying 10 percent of Shirfield's shares and will provide the Indian company with a $5 million Internet and mobile lottery ticket system.
Shirfield, a shareholder in the MODI group, the biggest distribution company in India, in August received the first-ever license to operate an online lottery in that country. Tiger Pools will own 50 percent of the joint venture.
With this agreement, Tiger Pools is positioned to dominate the Asian lottery market.
"The alliance with Shirfield, which has emerged as the exclusive lottery business company in the vast Indian market, with a population of 1.2 billion, demonstrates the international recognition of the high quality of our lottery system," said Kim Chong-mum, representative director of Tiger Pools-i.
Tiger Pools sells seven kinds of government-issued lottery tickets via the Internet and is the exclusive operator of Sports Toto, a football and basketball pool game.
Economists Propose a "Meaner" National Lottery
Two British economists think the U.K. National Lottery would benefit from being "meaner," the Financial Times reported in November.
The lottery, which gives 28 percent of its sales to charity, should give smaller prizes but increase the margin on tickets, said Ian Walker and Juliet Young.
"The pie would be smaller but the overall size of the slice going to good causes might be higher," Walker told the Times.
Walker, of the University of Warwick, said more money could be given to good causes if the winnings were reduced by a few pence for every pound. He warned, though, that reducing jackpots by too much might drive players away.
"People like long shots.The National Lottery is one of the few gambling products in the market that gives us the simple opportunity for a long shot, without the complication of accumulators and so on," Walker said.
Walker and Young, who published a report on the National Lottery on the seventh anniversary of the lottery's launch, said they found that ticket revenue has fallen £20 million since 1997. A spokeswoman for the lottery denied that Britons are losing interest in the games and said ticket
sales remain steady at £90 million per week.
Arts Group Opposes Charity Lotteries
While scholars contemplate lessening the National Lottery's jackpots, a representative from the Campaign for the Arts is charging that U.K. gambling reform will put a dent in the charity funds
given out by the lottery.
Victoria Todd, director of the National Campaign for the Arts, said last week that lottery funding for the arts could decrease by millions of pounds if the proposed changes are made to the U.K.'s gambling laws.
The British Gambling Review Body's report, known as the Budd Report, after the group's chairman, Sir Allan Budd, calls for a relaxation of gambling laws, including allowing the creation of charity lotteries. Todd said separate charity lotteries will reduce the National Lottery's sales.
Todd took her complaints to culture secretary Tessa Jowell, asking Jowell to assess the potential economic impact of the proposals. Camelot, operator of the National Lottery, has already voiced
disagreement with the recommendations in the report.
Scientific Games Wins Big in Italy
An Italian Court decided in favor of Scientific Games this month over protests about the lottery ticket company's being awarded an Italian instant ticket contract.
Scientific Games said on Nov. 8 that as soon as the Monopoli di Stato ratifies the award, it and Lottomatica will begin supplying the instant tickets, 10,000 SciScan validation terminals, a new central system and cooperative services. Lottomatica is an Italian gaming company that operates automated services.
New York-based Scientific Games said the Italian contract could generate as much as $20 million in annual revenue and another $20 million in central system and terminal sales and shares in consortium profits.
Lorne Weil, chairman and CEO of Scientific Games, said the contract could be one of the biggest deals the company has ever had.
"While we have been awaiting the court's decision, we have been gearing up for a decision in our favor so we are ready," Weil said. "We are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Lottomatica, the leading consortium member, in the execution of the contract and with the Italian government."
Fluxx.com Sells License to NordwestLotto
German lottery software designer Fluxx.com announced the sale of a lotto game license last week to state-owned lottery NordwestLotto.
The sale, worth more than one million deutsche marks, will help Fluxx.com break even in the fourth quarter. The company's third-quarter losses reflected falling sales; Fluxx.com is cutting information technology costs as well as staff to increase profitability.
On Friday, the day of the announcement, the German company's stock rose as much as 43 percent.
UK Lottery Funds Help Promote Healthy Lifestyle
More than £500 million in funding from the National Lottery is making its way to England's economically disadvantaged schools and sports clubs to improve their athletic facilities.
The lottery has allocated £750 million for the project; £541 million is to go to schools in England and Wales. The amount of funds going to Northern Ireland and Scotland will be announced next year.
The lottery proceeds will be used to promote sports and use of athletic facilities in the general community with the hope of getting sedentary adults off their feet and to encourage young people to be active. The government also aims for the funding to bridge the gap between wealthy and low-income areas in terms of the nation's health.
"Every young person deserves the chance to participate in sport and P.E. of the highest quality, " said Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Modernizing school facilities is a crucial part of creating that
opportunity. Sport is also a key weapon in our fight against school exclusion, crime and drugs, giving thousands of young people the chance to choose a positive, healthy lifestyle."