Hungary for Mobile
Szerencsejáték Rt., the Hungarian state gambling operator, has obtained a license to operate games organized through mobile phones. The games include: Lottery 5/90; Lottery 6/45; Lottery 7/35; Toto and Góltotó (sports pool betting games); Keno; and Joker. The conditions of the participation in the games are contained by the participation rules of Szerencsejáték Rt.; however, the provisions of the Act No. XXXIV of 1991 on the organization of gambling and the Order No. 25/1991 (X. 16.) of the Ministry of Finance are also to be applied. The conditions of awarding a new license are also contained in these regulations. The games may be organized in Hungary exclusively by the permission of the gaming board, which issues the license for these types of games only if the organizer has met the necessary personal, material and economic conditions to operate them securely and professionally. The games concerned may be organized by the state game organizer (which is owned exclusively by the state), by a business company exclusively owned by the state game organizer, by an economic organization with majority state share or by a concession company established for this purpose. All licenses are issued by the gaming board. Szerencsejáték Rt. has offered mobile products since October, 2003. Based on current information, around one per 1,000 games played is played via mobile phones.
EGET Streams Global Mobile
Finnish mobile games supplier EGET has announced a partnership with U.K. mobile content and applications provider Stream Group plc to introduce mobile gaming to new markets across the globe. EGET will supply its WinOne gaming platform, providing worldwide access to a wide range of games, including bingo and casino games. Stream also plans to launch its own mobile gaming brand in England by the end of the year. Through the alliance with EGET, Stream will offer a white-label gaming solution based on the WinOne platform.
Patented Security
Gaming technologies provider Szrek2Solutions says it has received a U.S. patent for the only random number generation technology available on the market with built-in fraud detection. The method offers verification of random results, utilizing public and private key encryption to digitally sign game data and produce a unique random number set. The digital signature used in the process can be "decoded" at any subsequent point in time to recreate and verify both the number set and the associated game data. Szrek2Solutions has applied the patented technology to its two products: Trusted Draw (TM), an animated electronic drawing machine, and Trusted Play (TM), a high- performance random number server that's being used by the Dansk Tipstjeneste (The Danish Lottery) for the generation of play outcomes for its Internet-based instant games.
Reality Czech
Profits for Czech Republic-based betting agency Tipsport decreased its 2004 by 3.3 percent (compared to 2003) to CEK 5.49 billion. The group's director blamed unfair foreign competition on the Internet, which he claims is illegal.
ALL CAPS Companies Join Forces
German Gaming solutions firm FLUXX AG has recruited ORLEN Deutschland AG, a subsidiary of the Polish mineral oil group PKN ORLEN SA, to install "JAXX Lottery Service" terminals at the majority of its nationwide network filling stations. In addition to ORLEN, FLUXX already has partnerships with the filling station operator OIL! and the supermarket chain EDEKA Nord for over-the-counter lottery products. FLUXX has 1,000 outlets at which the JAXX Lottery Service will become available.
World Lottery Forum Postponed
After the devastation caused by the hurricane Wilma in the Cancún area, World Lottery Association President Reidar Nordby, Jr. said WLA and Lotería Nacional had no choice than to postpone the World Lottery Forum until February 2006 (probably Feb. 5-9).
Intralot Eyes Casino Biz
Konstantinos Antonopoulos, CEO of Greek lottery technology company Intralot, told newspaper Euro2day that his group is working toward forming strategic alliances in preparation for possibly entering the casino market. Intralot has already confirmed a partnership with British bookmaker Ladbrokes to bid for the next U.K. National Lottery license. Antonopoulos also said his company would be the largest betting company in a deregulated European market. Intralot has 33 subsidiaries and employs more than 1,800 employees in 32 countries. The company is expected to report 500 million euros in revenue for the year 2005.