Camelot Goes Wireless
Officials with the UK’s National Lottery operator, Camelot, introduced its new text-based games for wireless devices.
Users can now play their numbers via text message for any of the three main games.
Camelot hopes the text messaging service will boost sales among the 18-to-34 age group and busy professionals who do not want to wait in line for tickets.
Users will also be able to take part in the newly formed EuroMillions game via text message.
Prizes of less than £50 will be automatically credited to the player's online account. Wins of £50 to £500 can go either into the account or back onto the player's debit card, while bigger prizes will have to be collected from regional National Lottery centers.
Goldenpot Launches Online Lottery in Bolivia
Spanish lottery solutions provider Goldenpot launched a lottery system in Bolivia involving games that can be played online or via mobile telephones.
Four games, launched on Nov. 1, are available online and one can be played through mobile phones as well.
Goldenpot invested $2 million to roll out the platform. Goldenpot hopes to expand the concept to 12 other countries in the region.
ONCE Mulling Over Catalan Bid
In Spain, Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), the Spanish national association for the blind and partially sighted people, announced that it is studying the options of bidding for the upcoming franchise to run the lottery in the autonomous region of Catalonia.
ONCE commented that the region's lottery would require a large amount of technological investment to bring it up to date. The franchise is due to be awarded next year.
The current franchise holder, Catalan lottery operator Luditec, has had a monopoly on the sector in Catalonia since 1987. Its contract was renewed without being opened to other companies in 1997, provoking fierce criticism.
Study Shows Lottery Site Most popular
A report from Internet researcher Nielsen Net Ratings has revealed that almost 4.3 million people in the UK visited a gambling website during September 2004.
As 23.3 million Britons logged on to the Internet in September, the figure means that around 16 percent of all web users now bet online.
The UK’s most popular online gambling site is the National Lottery, which attracted 1.4 million visitors during September, while UK gaming company Ladbrokes recorded 305,000 visits on its site.
New Jersey Looking to Expand Online Offerings
New Jersey, the first state to unveil an Internet lottery game earlier this year, is forging ahead with a second online offering in an effort to lure younger players.
Tetris, an action puzzle computer game that was popular on the 8-bit Nintendo platform in the 1980s, become a lottery e-game earlier this month.
As with Cyber Slingo, the Internet game the New Jersey Lottery launched in February, Tetris players must purchase tickets from retailers and scratch off a computer access code that enables them to play online.
The goal for players is to align block-like pieces called "Tetriminos" to form complete lines. Players can choose among 10 levels, but their skill will have no impact on whether they win.
Amicus Concerned Over Lottery Relocation
Trade union Amicus expressed concern over the announcement that the UK Lottery will relocate out of central London and the South East and shrink its regional operations.
The Lottery Fund said that their corporate office will be moving out of central London and that a further two operational centers will be created in the Midlands and the North of England, supported by nine smaller regional offices.
Up to 500 staff will be affected as the lottery's corporate headquarters are relocated. Amicus also said the move will jeopardize the community relations that regional lottery staff have built up over many years.
The locations of the new corporate headquarters and two operational centers have not been decided yet and Amicus feels their members are facing real uncertainty over their jobs. Amicus says up to 500 staff will be affected nationwide.