Record Setting -- The U.K. National Lottery Web site experienced record rates of sale as the EuroMillions jackpot reached £123 million ($239.4 million) on Nov. 17. In the final hour, sales through the site climaxed at £500,000 ($973,967) per hour--an average of £140 per second. Interactive sales on Nov. 17 were 56 percent higher than the sales peak at the time of the largest EuroMillions jackpot of £125 million ($243.3 million) in February of this year, when sales peaked at £319,000 ($621,427) an hour.
Partnering -- Skill games provider GameAccount today announced an agreement with U.K. bookmaker Blue Square (BS) to supply BS with skill games products. The skill games service will be available via a dedicated GameAccount homepage tab, and is expected to go live in January 2007.
Partnering . . . Sort of -- I-gaming software developer Cryptologic today announced that it is negotiating a renewal contract with U.K. betting company William Hill. The companies have entered into a non-binding agreement that reflects the original agreement "in principle." According to the provisions of the agreement, the companies expect to ink a three-year contract; the current contract was to expire in November but has been extended to allow for the completion of negotiations in early December.
Acquiring -- New Wave Mobile on Nov. 22 announced its letter of intent to acquire 100 percent of lottery solutions provider WagerPhone in exchange for 115 million restricted shares and $500,000 initial funding for the launch of its lottery initiatives.
Reevaluating -- Gaming Transactions Inc. (GT) last week announced the termination of a licensure agreement with Red Ruth Ventures Inc. (RRV) for non-payment of the contract. GT was to license Keno.com and an Internet financial gaming transaction system from RRV. GT also accepted the resignation of Patrick Smyth, the company's former chairman and CEO. Further information regarding the status of GT will be issued in the near future, the company said in a prepared statement.
Growing -- The Chinese gambling industry exhibits potential for significant growth, reports Sinocast China Business Daily News. Wang Xuehong, executive director of the China Center for Lottery Studies at Peking University (CCLS), said the industry's market size may be capable of swelling to as much as $63 billion. Wang also speculated that China's gaming industry will comprise between 2 percent and 3 percent of the country's GDP. In a separate study by the CCLS, Chinese gamblers were shown to invest an estimated $76 billion annually in overseas lotteries, roughly ten times the sum already invested in the domestic public welfare lottery.