Swiss Lottery Introduces SMS Game
OberthurNetgameFactory announced this week that it has teamed up with SwissLos, a national Swiss lottery, to provide a mobile SMS lottery to the Swiss market.
OberthurNetgameFactory is providing SwissLos with a turnkey solution, complete with game concept, system and tickets.
The game is based on "Mini," the popular scratch ticket used by SwissLos, adapted for an SMS platform. The player not only scratches the traditional instant game, but also another play area where he uncovers a unique code that's subsequently sent via SMS. If lucky, the player wins a music CD. and the SMS game can also be the entrance ticket to a music quiz on the popular Swiss televised program "Weekend Music."
T-Mobile Rolls out Mobile Lottery System for UK Market
An agreement between T-Mobile and MLotto will give U.K. players access to three games via cellular phone, giving them a chance to win £1,000.
As part of the deal T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom's mobile phone division, will offer the Mobile Lotto service (developed by MLotto) to its U.K. subscribers.
Subscribers started accessing the system this week, giving the two companies a jump start on Camelot, operator of the U.K National Lottery, which plans to introduce a range of lottery games for mobile phones in a couple of months.
With about three-quarters of the U.K. population possessing a mobile phone, mobile operators and gambling groups believe phone users will be attracted by a range of games, lured by the prospect of receiving a check sent to their home address.
The Gaming Board for Great Britain licenses the mobile lottery.
Tennessee Lottery Officials Concerned about Pre-Paid Phone Card
A prepaid calling card, complete with pull-tabs that reveal whether a cash prize has been won, is turning heads among lawmakers and regulators in Tennessee.
State Rep. Ulysses Jones, who brought three of the tickets, told a legislative committee meeting this week that despite the cards being sold as two-minute phone cards, everyone knows the real reason for buying them is to see what prize the person has won. He said jackpots range from $1 to $500, essentially making the prepaid phone cards lottery tickets.
Lottery spokesman Will Pinkston said Lottery CEO Rebecca Paul is collecting samples of the tickets and will ask law enforcement to look out for them.
Russia Moves a Step Closer to Starting Lottery
The Russian state of Duma this month had its third reading of a lottery bill that amounts to the nation's first attempt at federally regulating the industry.
The bill needs approval from the Federation Council and still has to be signed by the president, but Russia has never before been this close to legalizing a lottery.
The proposed law regulates the lottery industry in Russia by specifying types and standards of lotteries, rules for organizing lotteries, the system for exercising control over the organization of lotteries, the liability of lottery operators and other measures. Lotteries are divided into single, multi-game, and combined lotteries and international, national, regional, and local, as well as state and non-state draws.
The law also stipulates the introduction of a unified state register of lottery operators and a mandatory annual audit of their accounting systems.
International Agreement Reached to Combat Lottery Scams
Government officials with the United Kingdom Canada, Australia and New Zealand joined forces this month to start a cooperative effort to combat international lottery scams.
U.K. consumers have in the past fallen victim to bogus Canadian lottery scams, and dubious e-mail approaches urging people to part with their money often originate from overseas.
The counties arranged to share information between the England's consumer and competition law agencies and their counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The agreements are the first in he United Kingdom to cover both consumer and competition law. They define the scope for cooperation and arrangements for enforcement liaison, information exchange and treatment of confidential material.
Spanish National Lottery May Go International
The Spanish treasury ministry announced this month that Organismo Nacional de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (Spanish national lottery) tickets might be sold outside of Spain in the future.
According to Spanish law, the tickets cannot be sold in other countries; their export would technically constitute smuggling. However, as a result of the large size of prizes, a number of countries have expressed an interest in selling the lottery tickets, which could be done via their official state lottery organizations.
Argentina, Venezuela and neighboring Andorra have expressed an interest.
Camelot Fined for Breaching License
Camelot, which operates the U.K. National Lottery, was fined this month for £50,000 for breaching its license.
The National Lottery Commission discovered Camelot had not maintained the necessary software to offer refunds or authorize prize payouts should it become insolvent or its license be revoked.
Patent Could Create Games and Lotteries Through Satellite TV
Bet As You Watch Casino wants to radically change the way gaming is conducted through satellite TV.
Under a patent received this quarter, the company is designing a system that will enable users to buy an admission ticket from their local lottery agents. The ticket can then be used for broadcasts of live casino table game action.
The program will include casino entertainment and commentators, much like commentators of sporting events, to assist players with the rules and strategies of the games.
The company hopes to prevent minors from accessing the system by exclusively licensing lottery operators who require advance cash deposits,
The system also identifies compulsive gamblers and limits or blocks their play.
Company officials said there's no violation of the U.S. Wire Act because the system doesn't use the Internet for wagering.