IGT to Unveil Expanded Scope of New Product Offerings at NIGA 2019

LONDON, U.K. (March 25, 2019) -- International Game Technology PLC ("IGT") (NYSE: IGT) today announces that the Company will showcase exciting new games and solutions from its vast product portfolio at the 2019 Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention ("NIGA"), booth 1864, from April 3-4 in San Diego, Calif.

IGT will demonstrate its deep commitment to tribal gaming customers with compelling innovations that enhance casino play and drive results for operators. For the first time at NIGA, IGT will present the full capabilities of its omni-channel PlayShot™ sports betting platform. It will also feature the new IncrediBell!™ tournament solution in NIGA's Charity Slot Tournament benefitting the Spirit of Sovereignty.

"At NIGA we will reinforce our commitment to tribal gaming customers by demonstrating how our expanded portfolio of games, systems, and solutions is designed to propel growth," said Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO North America. "Our tribal gaming partners continually set a strong example for casino innovation, and we identify NIGA as an opportunity to deliver a technology showcase with new games, hardware, and exciting evolutions in our sports betting and tournament offerings."

Under the theme "Your Best Bet," IGT will showcase the following product highlights within its NIGA booth:

IGT PlayShot sports betting solution: Now powering sports betting at tribal, commercial, and lottery-run casinos across six states, the turnkey PlayShot sports betting solution underscores how tribal casino operators can partner with IGT to capture opportunities within the rapidly evolving U.S. sports betting market with market-ready technology. IGT will also demonstrate compelling new sports betting technologies such as the PlayShot™ QuickBet™ sports betting kiosk and the CrystalBetting™ Terminal. 

Proven core content: NIGA attendees can experience titles such as the Griffin's Throne™ and Fortune Coin™ games, which have earned "Proven Performer" status in the Company's performance testing process. The Company will also showcase new games such as Coin O Mania™ and Golden Jungle™ Grand on the CrystalCurve™ cabinet, and the Wild Pirates® game on CrystalSlant™ cabinet.

Legendary brands on proven hardware: IGT will showcase the depth and breadth of its premium portfolio with games inspired by top-tier licensed brands, such as the Wheel of Fortune® Cash Link™ and Wheel of Fortune® 4D More Money games. NIGA attendees will be invited to "Come on Down" and experience IGT's trio of The Price is Right® games including The Price is Right Showcase Showdown on the new Megatower™ Universal cabinet, The Price is Right on CrystalCurve™ ULTRA hardware, and The Price is Right Plinko on the CrystalDual+™ Stepper cabinet. These games will share the floor with other pop culture-inspired games such as Adam Levine Video Slots and American Gods™ 4D at NIGA.

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IGT will also display a range of multi-level progressives for the CrystalCurve cabinet including the Star Stax™ game and the recently launched Fortune Link™ game.

New Class II and CDS content and hardware: NIGA will mark the world debut for IGT's large-format S3000® XL cabinet for Class II content, premiering with the Red Rich Girl™ game. Building on the success of Class III Proven Performer titles, the Company will present Class II versions of games such as Fortune Coin™ and Wild Fury Jackpots® on the CrystalCurve cabinet. Additionally, IGT will present CDS-compatible offerings on the large-format Video XL gaming machine with titles such as the Triple Fortune Dragon® and Dangerous Beauty® games. Other CDS-compatible games on display will include Scarab™ and Wu Wang Zhe™ on the CrystalDual 27 cabinet, and the Golden Jungle Grand game on the CrystalCurve cabinet.

CrystalSlant™ Poker cabinet and content: NIGA will serve as the trade show debut for the CrystalSlant Poker gaming machine, offering a modern hardware solution for industry-leading video poker themes such as Game King®, and new Keno games such as Ultimate X Keno™ and Super Times Pay Keno™.

Chill Gaming's Bloomtopia™ and Fortunes of the Brave™: IGT's NIGA booth will also include games with social gaming and skill-based elements. Chill Gaming's Bloomtopia and Fortunes of the Brave games reward players with monetary and non-monetary awards. Bloomtopia enables players to enjoy a traditional slot game while building and nurturing their own in-display garden. The Fortunes of the Brave theme is a game of chance with elements of skill where players enjoy a traditional video slots base game, and then engage in skill-based fantasy battle features using a console gaming controller. Players can leverage the games' unique player cards to store their in-game progress for future visits.

Additional product highlights within IGT's booth will include:

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• IGT's Dynasty Electronic Table Games (ETG) including live baccarat, blackjack, sic bo, and roulette. The Company will also highlight its RNG offerings with Triple Zero Auto Roulette, baccarat, and the new triple hand blackjack with expanded options for side bets.
• Low-denomination progressive spinning reel games on the S3000 cabinet with titles such as the Dragon of Fortune™ and Red Hot Tamales!® Jackpots games, plus content on the high-denomination S3000 cabinet, which includes player-favorite features such as the progressive jackpot meter display, iconic stepper sounds, expanded pay tables and black reel glass.
• Mobile systems innovations Cardless Connect®, Resort Wallet and Mobile Intelligent Offer, and the M5 content delivery solution, which seamlessly integrates into the ADVANTAGE casino management system. IGT's M5 enables operators to leverage a game screen to deliver bonus content and offer a variety of patron conveniences such as ordering a drink and making hotel reservations.

For more information visit www.igt.com

About IGT

IGT (NYSE:IGT) is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Digital and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships with governments and regulators in more than 100 countries around the world, and create value by adhering to the highest standards of service, integrity, and responsibility. IGT has over 12,000 employees. For more information, please visit www.igt.com.

IGT CONTACTS:

SOURCE: IGT.

INTRALOT Announces Agreement with Gauselmann Group to take over Sports Betting Provider Totolotek SA

ATHENS, Greece (March 26, 2019) -- The INTRALOT Group announces that it has reached an agreement with Merkur Sportwetten GmbH, a subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group based in Espelkamp, Germany to take over the renowned sports betting company Totolotek SA – a fully owned INTRALOT subsidiary in Poland. The share purchase agreement has already been concluded and both parties are now awaiting merger clearance. With this acquisition, the German company will enter the Polish market and thus expand its presence in Europe. Soon Polish sports betting fans will be able to place their bets under the sign of the well-known MERKUR sun: Merkur Sportwetten GmbH.

Totolotek has been firmly established in the Polish sports betting market for over 27 years and is one of the top three omnichannel betting companies in Poland. It markets its wide range of sports betting products through stationary trade at over 260 distribution points as well as online via its website and mobile app. Totolotek currently has 560 employees.

“We are delighted to have gained a strong strategic partner with Merkur Sportwetten, and the Gauselmann Group behind it. With its experience and financial strength as well as its innovative products for stationary trade and the online and mobile sector, it will help Totolotek achieve further growth,” says Adam Lamentowicz, CEO of Totolotek.

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“Consistent with INTRALOT’s strategy of disinvesting from its non-core markets and focusing on the group’s strategic markets, such as the USA, we are very glad we can safeguard Totolotek’s continued growth within the strong Gauselmann Group and its European-market-focused sports-betting division Merkur Sportwetten. In my view, this transaction will create value for all involved parties – Gauselmann, Totolotek and INTRALOT – which was fundamentally important from INTRALOT’s point of view when deciding to proceed with this transaction,” explains Andreas Chryssos, CFO of INTRALOT Group, summing up the acquisition of Totolotek by Merkur Sportwetten.

“Sports betting is extremely popular in Poland and for many football fans it’s an essential part of a good match. The acquisition of Totolotek is an important part of our growth strategy to open up the Polish market and thereby gain another core market in Europe alongside Germany, Austria, Denmark and Belgium,” explains Niko Steinkrauß, CEO of Merkur Sportwetten.

About INTRALOT

INTRALOT, a public listed company established in 1992, is a leading gaming solutions supplier and operator active in 52 regulated jurisdictions around the globe. With €1.1 billion turnover and a global workforce of approximately 5,100 employees (3,100 of which in HQ and subsidiaries and 2,000 in associates) in 2017, INTRALOT is an innovation – driven corporation focusing its product development on the customer experience. The company is uniquely positioned to offer to lottery and gaming organizations across geographies market-tested solutions and retail operational expertise. The company has designed a new ecosystem of holistic omni-channel solutions across verticals (Lottery, Betting, Interactive, VLT) for Lotteries digital transformation. INTRALOT has been awarded the prestigious WLA Responsible Gaming Framework Certification by the World Lottery Association (WLA) and the WLA certificate for the Security Control standard.

For more information please CONTACT: Ms. Spyranda Anamouroglou, Corporate Communications Manager, Phone: +30-2106156000, Fax: +30-2106106800, email: anamouroglou@intralot.com.

SOURCE: INTRALOT (www.intralot.com).

Tribal Regulators, Commissioners, and Operators Benefit from GLI’s 30 Years of Expertise at NIGA 2019

LAS VEGAS, NV (March 25, 2019) – Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) has been a trusted supporter of Tribal Gaming Regulatory Authorities in jurisdictions across the United States for 30 years. Now at NIGA 2019, GLI will showcase how Class II and Class III regulators, commissioners, and operators benefit from GLI’s expertise and services.

The company will be in booth #1722 at the show, discussing the many ways GLI helps tribes protect their investments, ensure compliance, and prepare for the future. GLI experts will discuss the company’s multiple services for tribal operators, including gaming floor audits and field inspections; accounting system audits and inspections, bingo system audits and inspections; and kiosk testing and inspections.

“We are humbled with the trust tribal operators place in GLI, and we work hard every day to show our dedication to this industry. We are fortunate that today regulators and operators rely on GLI for Class II and Class III testing and related services more than any other lab,” said GLI Director of Client Services Michael Capen.

Beyond its lab and field services, GLI has been supportive of Tribal charitable efforts. For example, GLI has been a NIGA Associate member for more than 20 years, and the company is also a long-time supporter of the Spirit of Sovereignty scholarship program.

Also exhibiting in GLI’s booth are compliance solutions from Kobetron. One solution is IRIS Online, which puts the power of modern technology in the palm of your hand. IRIS Online provides real time software status alerts, real time floor analysis, and machine floor data, and letter and signature access.

The technologically advanced IRIS Enterprise system saves regulators time and money in the compliance process. IRIS Enterprise was specifically designed to manage slot floor business processes by marrying slot department and gaming commission functions in one system, giving users one easy window to manage, track and audit the gaming operation.

Off the show floor, GLI’s Vice President of Government Relations & General Counsel Kevin Mullally will participate on the panel, “Responsible Gaming Initiatives: Keep Our Gaming Healthy.” The panel takes place April 2 at 11:00 a.m.

Visit GLI in booth #1722 at NIGA and discover how GLI’s 30 years of expertise can benefit your operation.

About Gaming Laboratories International

Gaming Laboratories International, LLC delivers the highest quality land-based, lottery, and iGaming testing and assessment services. GLI’s laboratory locations are found on six continents, and the company holds U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025, 17020, and 17065 standards for technical competence in the gaming, wagering and lottery industries. GLI also holds ISTBQ certification. For more information, visit gaminglabs.com.

CONTACT: Christie Eickelman, Vice President of Global Marketing, T: +1 (702) 914-2220 or E: c.eickelman@gaminglabs.com

SOURCE: Gaming Laboratories International.

Kentucky Lottery Sales on Record-Setting Pace

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (March 22, 2019) -- In today’s meeting of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation’s board of directors, it was announced that both sales and net income were up from the record-setting levels of the previous fiscal year.

Vice President and Corporate Controller Maggie Garrison reported total sales through February were $722 million. This is $51.1 million (7.6%) more than the last fiscal year and $22.2 million (3.2%) ahead of budget.

“There are a couple clear indicators for this increase,” said the Lottery’s President and CEO Tom Delacenserie.

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“The October Mega Millions jackpot run really helped sales. We’ve sold $48.4 million in that game, which is 94.7% more than last year and 64.5% more than budgeted sales. We’ve also seen huge gains in our Scratch-off tickets, which are $32.3 million (8.3%) more than last year and $12.2 million (3%) ahead of budget.”

Delacenserie said the Scratch-off numbers will continue on a growth trajectory, as the Lottery launched its first-every $30 ticket in February.

Designed to coincide with the Lottery’s 30th birthday in April, the Break Fort Knox ticket went on sale February 22nd. Based largely on interest in this new game, the lottery realized Scratch-off sales that day of $8.77 million.

This shatters the previous one-day sales record of $5.1 million, set on the very first day of modern lottery sales in Kentucky (April 4, 1989).

Garrison also reported that net income before transfer of dividends for the year stands at $188.3 million, which is $14.5 million more than last year and $20.7 million ahead of budget.

These are the dollars provided to the Commonwealth to pay for college scholarship and grant programs funded by Lottery proceeds.

In other business, the board approved:

• An agreement with Smartplay International for draw machine maintenance and repair;
• A contract renewal with Gaming Laboratories International for lottery ball testing, random number generator evaluation and related services;
• Contracts with Goldberg Simpson LLC and Valenti Hanley PLLC for legal services;
• Contracts with Ellen Williams LLC and Akin Gump Hauer & Felp LLP for government relations services;
• An increase to the approved FY19 capital budget by $268,000 for new facilities construction, and;
• Rules and regulations for 6 scratch-off tickets, 8 Instant Play games and revised rules for two draw games.

The next meeting of the KLC’s board of directors will be June 14. The meeting will begin at 10:00 AM EST, and will be held at the KLC headquarters at 1011 West Main Street in Louisville. The audit committee meeting will begin at 8:30 AM EST, as well as the procurement committee at 9:00 AM EST.

For More Information CONTACT: Chip Polston, Jennifer Cunningham or Sara Westerman (502) 560-1675.

SOURCE: Kentucky Lottery Corporation.

Reform of the State Treaty on Gambling: DSWV Demands Association Hearing

• Minimal reform of the prime ministers does not solve structural problems
• State Treaty must be fundamentally revised by 2021
• Demand for involvement of associations, sports and science

BERLIN, Germany (March 21, 2019) -- After today's agreement of the Prime Ministers' Conference on the "Third State Treaty on Gaming", the DSWV appeals to the federal states to immediately continue the negotiations on a fundamental reform of German gambling regulation and to involve associations, sports and science. DSWV President Mathias Dahms sees in today's decision of the Prime Minister's Conference a first but insufficient step to regulate the German sports betting market:

"The 3rd Amendment to the State Treaty on Gaming is only a temporary measure for the short transitional period until 2021. It does not solve the structural deficits of the State Treaty, but gives the countries time to continue negotiating the urgently needed modernization of German gambling law."

The Prime Minister's decision provides for a new licensing procedure for sports bookmakers; the licenses will be issued in early 2020 for the short period until June 2021.

However, the overly restrictive rules of the state treaty remain in place: the popular live bet - about 60 to 70 percent of the market - is disproportionately restricted, flat-rate game limits arbitrarily set. Dahms doubts that such a prohibitive regulation meets the demands of a modern, digital society:

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"In Germany there is a solid sports betting market. Customers have clear expectations of their sports betting product. If countries completely ignore social realities and customer wishes, they run the risk of failing again with their regulation. Unattractive conditions threaten to marginalize the offers licensed in Germany compared to the black market."

From the point of view of Dahms, it is urgently necessary for modern and appropriate regulation to involve the industry associations concerned, organized sport, science and representatives of consumer protection in an orderly procedure in the further process of will-formation and reform:

"It is good democratic practice and a requirement of transparent political decision-making to involve norm addressees in the legislative process. The last association hearing on German gambling regulation took place in May 2010. Since then, the gambling treaty has only worked behind closed doors. We and many other associations are therefore offering countries the opportunity to contribute our decades of expertise in a cooperative and constructive manner in order to bring German gambling regulation together to success."

About the German Sports Betting Association:

The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) was founded in 2014 by the leading German and European sports betting providers in Berlin and sees itself as a public contact, especially for politics, sports and the media. All member companies have licenses in EU member states and are seeking regulation and licensing for the German market as well. Since 2012, they have paid around 2 billion euros in sports betting taxes in Germany. Most members are also active as sponsors in the German professional sport.

SOURCE: The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV).

Atlantic Lottery Finds Success in Hackathons

MONCTON, NB (March 22, 2019) -- Like any company offering consumer products, lotteries can get caught up in a rut. “New” games may just be variations on old games that have no interest to today’s young adults. What’s a lottery to do to change the mindset of product creation and game development?

How about staging a hackathon?

These intense design sprints focus on exploratory programming and attract bright young minds to think differently, in an all-out effort to create functional products or services in a short period of time. Teams are often made up of a mix of artists, graphic designers, product or service designers, engineers, programmers and business people. The Atlantic Lottery started using hackathons in the fall of 2016, partnering with companies that focus on startup incubation to encourage innovation.

“Hackathons are boiling with ideas and are a great place to get your creative juices flowing,” said Michael Sandalis, Atlantic Lottery’s Manager of Innovation Execution. “Atlantic Lottery is always looking for new ways to improve our products and services, and we like to stay on the forefront of things, so this type of partnership was a natural fit.”

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He explained that one of the biggest benefits of hackathons for the Lottery is getting that outside perspective for new game ideas. The young people participating – virtually all are under 30 – have a different viewpoint than those who have been in the industry for a long time. They see problems from angles no one ever thought of before, identifying where lotteries are falling short and where opportunities may lie. “At these events we actually get to interact with prospective customers – those young adults who haven’t played lottery. We hear their ideas and their enthusiasm about where lottery should be going.”

Sandalis is always thrilled when a group is brought together and almost no one has played lottery before. “That’s so perfect, because that’s why we do these hackathons.” During the introduction, some basic information about lottery is provided, including some guidelines about social responsibility, but that’s pretty much it. “We don’t want to give them a ton of constraints, because then they are just going to develop a numbers game that gets drawn once a week!”

Atlantic Lottery has held nine hackathons to date. For the first eight, the Lottery partnered exclusively with Volta Labs and held the events in Halifax. The most recent hackathon, conducted in February, was the first to also include other locations in Atlantic Canada in addition to Halifax – the Lottery added partnerships with Venn Innovation and Startup Zone for sites in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, respectively. The three companies are all start-up incubators – helping new businesses with innovative ideas get established, offering mentoring, and fundraising assistance and facility space, among other things.

The events are staged in one of two ways. One is an intensive three-day weekend where participants come in and build a solution to the challenge at hand. The other is spread out over a week, allowing more time for thought and flexible scheduling.

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Each hackathon has a specific theme, and participants have been challenged to bring unique, innovative ideas in such areas as e-sports, social lottery, and East Coast-specific products or services. There was even a Scratch Ticket Design Jam to help design new instant tickets. But Sandalis’ favourite concept was Space Lotto. The spaceman image used and the idea of sending a remote device into space to run lotto numbers was all about encouraging out-of-this-world ideas for bringing lottery to new places or new spaces. “It was hilarious, and we just wanted to do something open, to get people really thinking about wacky, different ideas.”

The three-province event in February encouraged the development of a new digital instant game, and attracted 62 participants who made up more than 20 teams. For most of the single-location events, there have been anywhere from 20 to 40 young adults participating – typically fairly equal numbers by gender. In addition to the thrill of competition, the winners get cash – the top three presentations in each competition get prizes from CAD 1,500 to CAD 500. The grand prize winner across provinces in February received an additional CAD 2,000. Mark Podrouzek, a student at St. Mary’s University, was on the team that won that grand prize, and he loves the events. “You never know what is going to happen. Part of the fun is the nature of doing something in such a short time. I love how the crunch influences the creative process, and how the product transforms from your initial idea.”

There have been some very innovative ideas presented at these hackathons; several are in various stages of testing and there are other benefits as well. “We have taken some of these early ideas and played around with them – they have influenced a lot of new thinking,” said Sandalis. When a specific idea looks promising, Atlantic Lottery sends it on for further testing with the player panel managed by the Lottery’s research department.

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“We take the top concepts from the hackathons and let our player panel evaluate them on our test site, to see how they stack up with some of the other concepts that we are working on.” He explained that ultimately, a few game ideas – whether coming from the hackathons or from the Lottery’s own team – rise to the top, and those go on for further development.

One hackathon idea that looked interesting was an Emoji lottery, but the player panel dismissed it. The good news is that even ideas that will never work in reality often provide unique insights. “The nuggets of those ideas infiltrate our minds, and we ask ourselves, ‘how can we put a lottery lens on that without ruining the idea?’”

Clearly hackathons have provided inspiration for Atlantic Lottery, and the next will likely come this summer. While the theme has yet to be determined, something in the area of corporate social responsibility may be ideal – the topic comes up often when hackathon participants learn what the lottery is all about. “The under-35 age group is very socially conscious, so ideas that help us find ways to make Atlantic Canada a better place could be an ideal theme for a hackathon.”

SOURCE: Atlantic Lottery Corporation via World Lottery Association.

Illinois Lottery Launches Player Education Campaign

Lottery seeks to encourage smart and responsible play

CHICAGO, IL (March 26, 2019) -- The Illinois Lottery today announced a new responsible gaming campaign to help players make informed decisions about their lottery play. The March launch of the campaign coincides with National Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

The campaign is comprised of social media posts, in-store messaging and paid advertising that drive players to new online content housed on the Lottery’s website, which features information about how games work, common myths about playing the lottery and practical tips for how to be smart when playing.

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The campaign was developed in response to recent independent research commissioned by the Lottery that indicated most Illinois players scored high on the “Positive Play Scale,” demonstrating that they engage in responsible behaviors and have a good understanding of how to play responsibly.

The Positive Play Scale, developed by Canadian research firm Gamres, is designed to measure the four key components of positive gambling-related behaviours and beliefs: honesty and control, how honest a player is with others about their gambling and how much they feel in control of their behaviour; pre-commitment, the extent to which a player considers how much money and time they should spend gambling; personal responsibility, the extent to which a player believes they should take ownership of their own behaviour; and gambling literacy, the extent to which a player has an accurate understanding of the nature of gambling.

Based on a survey conducted last summer, Illinois Lottery players scored lowest in gambling literacy, prompting the Lottery to develop the new player education campaign.

“Our goal is to integrate smart play into every aspect of what we do, from retailer training and game design to consumer research and player education,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Harold Mays said. “While the Gamres research indicates that our players seem to be playing responsibly, the new campaign will help ensure our players have the information they need to make informed decisions about playing the Lottery.”

The Illinois Lottery is one of five U.S. lotteries certified to Level 3 by the World Lottery Association, the second-highest level of responsible gaming certification. Working with Camelot Illinois, the Illinois Lottery’s private manager, the Lottery aims to obtain Level 4 certification.

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“Sixty percent of Illinois residents play the Lottery at least once every year,” said Camelot Illinois General Manager Colin Hadden.  “We want to educate all of our players about responsible play so that playing the Lottery stays fun - that’s what this campaign is all about.”

To learn more about the campaign, please visit illinoislottery.com.

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About the Illinois Lottery

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $20 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes like Illinois Veterans services, the fight against breast cancer, MS research, Special Olympics and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to playing in-store, the Illinois Lottery offers online and mobile play for all draw-based Illinois Lottery games at illinoislottery.com. Players must be at least 18 years old.

About Camelot Illinois

Camelot Illinois is the new private manager of the Illinois Lottery. In partnership with the state, Camelot operates a modern lottery that truly benefits the people of Illinois. Camelot is dedicated to working with transparency, integrity and responsibility to grow the lottery and reinforce its rightful position as a force for good. The company’s innovative approach places consumers and social responsibility at its core, providing funding for schools, capital projects and special causes.

SOURCE:  Illinois Lottery press release.

Study Reveals Four Out of Ten Italian Men (38.8%) Spend Their Money on Legal Gambling

Scratch and win the most popular with 8 out of 10 preferring to play

ROMA, Italy (March 18, 2019) -- A recent study of Italian men prepared by Eurispes (Institute of Political, Economic and Social Studies) found the following:

Men: four out of ten spend money to play

The turnover of games in Italy has exceeded 100 billion euros in 2017 according to the latest figures from the AAMS. Alongside the purely playful and healthy aspects of the game, it is necessary to point out the problem of addictive pathologies that are spreading as a social problem aggravated by the development of illegal gaming circuits, alongside the legalized ones.

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About four men out of ten in Italy (38.8%) spend their money on legal gambling: of these, 23.2% only play live, 12.4% only online and 12.4% participate on both circuits. On the other hand, 61.2% of men say they do not participate in games with cash prizes.

Worrying is the fact that the highest percentages of those who claim to play are among the youngest: 45.9% between 25 and 34 and 40.4% between 18 and 24 (in other age groups considered the value never exceeds about 38%).

Scratch and win the most popular: scratch 8 Italians out of 10

Among the legal games with cash prizes the most widespread is the Scratch card, with only 16.9% of players who say they never play, compared to about 83% of those who play there sometimes, often or even always . Lotto and SuperEnalotto are also very popular (78.1%). Less than half of gamblers have the habit of playing with Slot Machines / VLT (41.6%), of participating in non-sports bets (35.2%), card games (32.4%) , Bingo (30.6%), horse racing bets (27.3%) and at the Casino (23.8%).

The youngest are confirmed as the most assiduous participants in all types of games. Only 12.7% of 25-34 year olds never play Scratch Cards and among the 18-24 year olds the percentage of those who say they play often (42.1%) is much higher than average. The men belonging to the first age group are also those who participate, more often than the others, in all games with cash prizes, with a percentage of responses that converge on "never" always less than 50% and much below below average. The 25-34 year-olds record the highest percentage for regular Slot Machines / VLT players (2.6%), card games (7.7%), Bingo (5.2%) and horse racing / horse betting (5 , 1%).

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The mirage of winning and fun: the combination that makes the gamer man

Investigating the motivations that induce them to play, the hope of a big win (27.2%) ranks first, followed by the search for "easy" money (24.3%) and the desire to have fun (22.3% ). 8% of men play to keep themselves busy during their free time; 5% see the game as a way to test their skills; 4.5% find excitement in the thrill of the game and 3.9% play by family tradition; only 1.8% of players would like to win money to donate it to those who need it, while 3% have different motivations from those options.

4 men out of 10 say they spent too much to play and a quarter of the sample was forced to borrow

39.7% of the players happened to have the feeling of spending too much playing: "sometimes" for 28.3%, "often" for 11% and "always" for 0.4%.

Having the feeling of spending too much time playing is instead the mood that most frequently involved the men interviewed: sometimes less than one in three (32.4%), about one in ten often and at 0.5% always, for a total of 42%.

Asking for money to borrow to play is the situation in which there were fewer players (27.4%), although it must be emphasized that this circumstance involved more than a quarter of the players' sample.

The men of the South are the ones who most frequently have the feeling of spending too much time playing: only 35.9% "never happened", 53.8% sometimes happens and one in ten always ; followed by the islanders who say they have this feeling, even if with different intensities, in 56.5% of the cases overall. Having the perception of spending too much money on the game also involves the islands players (overall 65.2%) and the South (64.1%) with respect to the other geographical areas taken into consideration.

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The men from the North-West regions are the ones who happened to ask for a loan more frequently to be able to play (in all 32.9%) while the players of the Center have done less than the others (83.3% "Never"), but it is in the South that we find the highest percentages of those who ask for loans to play "often" (10.3%) and "always" (5.1%).

The opinion of players and non-players. One in three men had direct or indirect experience of illegal gaming circuits

Compared to illegal gaming circuits, 65% of the total sample of men interviewed never learned about it, 27% knew it but never took part, while 8% participated directly. In the South, illegal gambling seems to be more widespread, with 31.5% of men aware of these circuits but never took part in them and 11.8% who also participated.

Between players and non-players the prevailing opinion is that the promotion by the State of the lawful and responsible game is not a right conduct since also the licit game creates dependence (26,8%) and involves in any case the risk of losing huge sums of money (15.1%). On the contrary, some believe that it is a good way to discourage illegal gambling (17.7%) and protect players (11.2%).

The social dangerousness of some games with cash prizes is quite widespread: a "very" high level of social dangerousness is attributed above all to Slot Machines (37.3%), followed by online games (24.3%) and Bingo (20%), while the games considered at no risk by a larger slice of the sample are Lotto and SuperEnalotto (17.6%).

Click here to read the report.

SOURCE: The Eurispes, Institute of Political, Economic and Social Studies.

Gaming Authority Outlines Measures that Gambling Providers Must Take to Prevent Gambling Addiction and to Adequately Protect Consumers

THE HAGUE (March 27, 2019) -- Responsible gambling, responsible gambling, is achieved by using the right tools at the right times from a well-filled toolbox. The tools required depend on the type of game of chance, the circumstances and the consumer in question.

That became clear during the first information meeting on March 26, 2019 in Eindhoven about the Duty of Care obligation, which can be responded to since March 12. In this document, the Gaming Authority (Ksa) outlines the minimum necessary measures that gambling providers must take to prevent gambling addiction and to adequately protect consumers.

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The Betting and Gaming Act states that gaming providers have a 'duty of care'.

Eleven measures

In the Duty of Care Guideline (pdf, 321 kB) there are eleven measures, including explanatory notes, that gambling providers can or must take depending on the gambling game that they offer. The measures do not apply one to one for all gambling providers. That is because one game of chance, for example a lottery, is less addictive than a game of chance or a casino game. To illustrate: all gambling providers are obliged to provide consumers with information about the game they offer in an appropriate manner. All providers must also provide information about the risks associated with the game offered. Another obligation that applies to all providers is having an adequate complaints procedure. Other obligations, such as having a comprehensive process to voluntarily (temporarily) exclude consumers from participation.

The meeting in Eindhoven mainly had an informative character. Questions were asked about how to implement the measures. It turned out that gambling providers clearly see great personal responsibility in preventing gambling addiction. One provider said he was busy monitoring the visit to his arcade: about sixty percent of the visitors come one-off, twenty percent come two or three times a month and twenty percent come regularly. 'You know the latter category. You get most of your profit from that group, but you also have to keep an eye on those people. They are most at risk. Preventing people from becoming addicted to gambling is tailor-made, "according to this provider.

Completion

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With the Duty of Care Guideline, the Ksa provides guidance to providers on how to fulfil their duty of care. There were various reasons for drafting the document. The immediate reason is that conversations with gambling providers showed that gambling providers fulfil their duty of care in various ways. This is understandable, since the law states that gambling providers have a duty of care, but do not make clear what the duty of care entails. The market therefore asked the Ksa to provide guidance on what the duty of care entails.

Meetings

The Ksa is organizing four more meetings in the coming two weeks (in Amsterdam, Zwolle, Utrecht and Rotterdam). Ksa employees explain the Duty of Care Guideline during the meetings, market parties and other parties involved can ask questions and make comments during the meetings (see also Ksa tests document (Leidraad Zorgplicht) on how to prevent gambling addiction ).

Respond

The Ksa ultimately determines the Guidelines for Duty of Care after the consultation period. Until 22 April 2019 there is the possibility to respond to the draft version of the Duty of Care Guideline via info@kansspelautoriteit.nl . The responses that are given during the five meetings in the country and the written responses that come in are assessed and processed. After adoption, the Duty of Care Guideline is the starting point for the supervision by the Ksa in the area of addiction prevention.

SOURCE: De Kansspelautoriteit.

The gaming Companies Take a Great Risk if They Do Not Follow the Requirement for Moderation in Gaming Advertising: Spelinspektionen

STRÄNGNÄS, Sweden (March 18, 2019) --There is currently an intensive debate on the amount of game advertising and its content. Many people ask themselves what the law means by the fact that the advertisement should be moderate and that this concept needs to be clarified.

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The term moderate will in the long term be made clear by case law, but for those gaming companies who want to be sure of following the law, the ambiguity is not a problem. In several cases, the Swedish Consumer Agency has already taken a position on the issue of what is moderate.

For example, in the Swedish Consumer Agency's lawsuit filing submitted to the Patent and Market Court last December, a number of factors are decisive for the assessment of moderate advertising.

To continue with advertising that is not moderate in anticipation of a judgment from the Patent and Market Court is not risk-free for the gaming companies.

The Gaming Inspectorate's sanctions are reverse-looking, which means that the Gaming Inspectorate can, with the help of the Gaming Act, impose backward sanctions if it is established in the Consumer Agency's supervision that a company has violated the moderation requirement.

In case of serious violations of the game law, the license shall be revoked, or if it is deemed sufficient, the warning shall be notified. A warning can be combined with a penalty fee.

A violation of the requirement of moderation is typically considered to be serious. The sanction that may be applicable in an individual case depends on several different factors, such as how long the infringement has been going on.

The licensee's actions in the supervisory matter of the Consumer Agency can also be of importance.

SOURCE: Spelinspektionen.

Global Lottery Monitoring System President Highlights Risks and Opportunities at the BOF Conference

LONDON, U.K. (March 21, 2019) -- GLMS President, Ludovico Calvi, attended the "Betting on Football" Conference on March 20-22 2018 in London, UK. Ludovico took part in two high level panels, joining world-class betting experts in discussing the opportunities and risks sports betting can bring about.

Being part of the panel "How sports betting fits the traditional Lotteries portofolio", Ludovico highlighted that sports betting constitutes a tremendous vehicle for innovation and therefore a unique opportunity for customer acquisition, notably for younger adults and millennials who would not be otherwise attracted by traditional Lottery products.

He underlined that Lotteries are best positioned to find a perfect balance between market needs and social responsibility sticking to their commitment to society and the public in general, which may differentiate them from other operators.

Sports betting has a very low level of vulnerability when it comes to compulsive attitudes since it is driven by passion for sport. He concluded that Lotteries and Sport have, in fact, relevant common values such as responsibility, integrity, transparency, reliability and fair play.

On Thursday, 21 March, Ludovico also took part in the panel "Integrity - Too many cooks", in which, after informing of the latest achievements of GLMS, he pointed out its value as a global alliance of Lotteries to support public stakeholders in the process of legalising sport betting sustainably.

GLMS, in fact, supports regulated, responsible and sustainable betting market environments since bans have often favoured the proliferation of black market, criminal orgs and match fixing. Ludovico highlighted that GLMS has generated 681 alerts over the year 2018, 81 of which have been reported to GLMS partners and stakeholders, including sport organisations, law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

He stressed that collective responsibility and collective actions among stakeholders from different fields is of the utmost importance for the effective fight against sport competition manipulations and recalled that GLMS is also very active in education and prevention activities to create a culture of integrity and social responsibility.

Finally, once again he reminded the importance of the quick entry into force of the Council of Europe Convention on Sport Competition Manipulations.

Ludovico Calvi - together with Jari Vahanen (Veikkaus OY), Jens Nielsen (Danske Spil), Stuart Godfree (Mikodo) - in the panel "How sports betting fits the traditional Lotteries portofolio"

GLMS CONTACTS:

•  Giancarlo Sergi, GLMS General Secretary: giancarlo.sergi@glms-sport.org

•   Evangelos Alexandrakis, GLMS Deputy General Secretary, evangelos.alexandrakis@glms-sport.org

 About GLMS

GLMS is the state lotteries’ mutualized monitoring system on sports betting. It aims at detecting and analyzing suspicious betting activities that could question the integrity of a sport competition. Building on six years of experience with the establishment in 2009 of ELMS with European Lotteries, GLMS went global in January 2015 extending the network to other continents. GLMS facilitates the sharing of sports betting information as part of the collective efforts of its members in ensuring sports integrity globally, and is dedicated to effective cooperation with all key stakeholders: regulators, law enforcement authorities, sports organizations.

GLMS currently has 32 individual Members from 4 continents (Österreichische Lotterien - Austria,  Loterie Nationale – Belgium, Hrvatska Lutrija – Croatia,  SAZKA – Czech Republic, Danske Spil – Denmark, Veikkaus – Finland, La Française Des Jeux – France,  Staatliche Loterieverwaltung in Bayern – Germany, Opap SA – Greece,  Szerencsejatek – Hungary, Islenk Getspa – Iceland,  Israel Sports Betting Board  - Israel, Lottomatica – Italy, Sisal – Italy,   Maltco Lotteries Ltd – Malta, Norsk Tipping – Norway,  Santa Casa De Misericordia da Lisboa – Portugal,   STOLOTO – Russia, Sportna Loterija – Slovenia,  Svenska Spel – Sweden,   Loterie Romande – Switzerland, Swisslos – Switzerland,  Nederlandse Loterij, the Netherlands,  Hong Kong Jockey Club – Hong Kong, Singapore Pools – Singapore,  Ktoto Co – South Korea, China Sports Lottery – China, Loto-Québec- Canada,  Polla Chilena de Beneficencia – Chile, Banca de Quinielas de Montevideo – Uruguay, La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports, Morocco,  Loterie Nationale du Sénégal – Senegal) and 2 collective Members (European Lotteries Association and World Lottery Association).

GLMS has 2 associate Members: Scientific Games International (SGI), INTRALOT.

SOURCE: Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS), Website: www.glms-sport.org.

REPORT: ALEA Responsible Gaming Unit, Meeting in Córdoba: a Participatory Instance of Exchange and Growth

CÓRDOBA, Argentina (March 20, 2019) -- The President of the Coordinating Unit of Social Responsibility and Responsible Gaming of ALEA (UCRSyJR), Dr. Raúl Quiroga, made a summary of the issues addressed by the members of the Unit, on the day of March 15, in the city of Cordova.

After a meeting between colleagues, the predominant sensation was the satisfaction of the participants. In the messages of thanks to the hosts, that feature that characterizes ALEA was expressed. In this sense, one of the participants wrote, 'for more meetings where we accompany each other and add to this journey that, although it is particular in each institution, we do it collectively when we share and exchange between us'.

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A permanent cycle of trainings

With the participation of representatives of twelve provinces, the Glossary of Terms for RSE and for JR was discussed at the beginning of the day. "In the specific part of JR we agreed that some of its definitions were outdated and in the CSR we agreed to use a general glossary in each province," said Quiroga, who highlighted the participation of Contadora Silvia Ordoñez de Lotería de Córdoba in this regard. In this topic, Ing. Teresita Benítez, of the IAS of Formosa and President of the Commission of Informative Affairs of ALEA, invited to contribute about this glossary. Benítez said that updated words and terms of use could be included.

Then, a review of the news of the Responsible Gaming (JR) programs was made. Tierra del Fuego referred to its self-excluded loading system and a self-exclusion regime whose contents have been modified with reference to the Lotería de Córdoba processes.

They also exhibited the lotteries of Catamarca, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Province of Buenos Aires, Corrientes, La Pampa and San Luis

JR's agenda

From Catamarca, the technical staff of the JR program requested the participation of the President of the Unit in the training on the theme of the construction of Responsible Gaming Programs, in the days to be held on April 11 and 12, as a tentative date.

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San Luis, like Córdoba, ratified its Training Day, with dates also to be confirmed. Likewise, tentative dates were set for the next meetings of the Unit in Catamarca, San Luis and the closing of the year in Tierra del Fuego, in order to achieve the participation of most jurisdictions. The calendar was considered by the Board of Directors of the association.

Caja Social de San Juan sent a note communicating a meeting or day, while the Training Days were confirmed, for the third year, of the Lotería de Córdoba.

Also, from Entre Ríos, they discussed the progress made in reaffirming their professional work, described the activities, talks for employees, etc., made for the last 17th of February, International Day of Responsible Gaming. In addition, they continue working to aspire to level 2 in JR before WLA ', summarized Quiroga.

The San Luis and Lotería teams of the Province of Buenos Aires made contributions explaining their tasks and, LOTBA, announced on April 25 a federal day that will have the sponsorship of ALEA, in which they will present speakers of great interest, like Sandra Conde, from La Montevideana in Uruguay, among others.

Different responsible gaming teams of ALEA member lotteries will participate in the APSA Psychiatric Congress, in Mar del Plata, which will take place from April 24 to 27, in which, among others, Dr. Quiroga and Dr will participate as speakers. Susana Calero This event will also have a very prominent international presence. Finally, the idea was to raise the possibility of developing research parameters in the different lotteries and to promote the use of the tools of the other jurisdictions, always indicating their origin or authorship.

In sum, an intense year of work in the area of SR was initiated and will continue in the next quarterly meeting of the institutional calendar.

SOURCE: la Asociación de Loterías Estatales de Argentina (ALEA).

Registration for APLA/WLA Seminar 15 - 18 April 2019 in Danang, Vietnam is Now Open!

Dear friends of APLA

We are pleased to announce that the Registration for the 2019 APLA/WLA Seminar is now open!

The details for this event are as follows:

• Date: 15 – 18 April 2019 (Business Program on 16 – 17 April)
• Venue: Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa, Danang, Vietnam
• Theme: Lotteries in the digital world - Disintermediation, Disruption or Transformation

This Seminar is being hosted and organized by both Singapore Pools Private Limited and Vietnam Lottery (Vietlott). You can expect a very exciting business program line up and an interesting experiential social program specially recommended by Vietlott.

A renowned industry leader Mr. Tim Kobe (Founder of Eight Inc,), who is popularly known as the visionary behind Apple’s iconic stores has been specially invited to be our Keynote Speaker. To quote an article, “Kobe believes that studying the humanities can help build empathy. A lack of empathy often goes hand-in-hand with a lack of awareness about the human experience that a particular piece of technology creates, which will restrict its widespread adoption, thus preventing true innovation. Tech companies and products, even entire countries, Kobe said, need to be designed with human experience in mind.”

Various Industry experts will also present on how we can captivate and reach out to the Digital Natives via channels that are pervasive to them.

Panelists comprising of representatives from WLA and APLA will also present on how digitalization have brought forth both opportunities and challenges to the Lottery industry.

We hope you will take home nuggets of knowledge and updates and embark onto your own Organisation’s transformational journey if you have not already started.

The Networking day will take us to Ba Na Hills, an area founded by the French colonials at 1919 and only lately, investors have transformed this whole place which is now referred to as the ‘climate pearl’ of Vietnam. It's located 1487m above the ground and boasts of chiller weather and fresh air.

Check out the ebrochure and also keep checking the APLA website for more announcements (www.asiapacific-lotteries.com).

Do hurry and register and as they say, Early Bird catches the worm…..

N.B. It is important to note that for the Hotel booking link, you can only book for nights from 15th to 18th April. If you need to arrive before 15th or stay past 18th, you will need to email to the hotel to request the room booking extension, the special room rates are valid from 12th to 21st April.

See you all in Danang.

Regards

Beh Swan Swan

APLA Secretariat Administrator

www.asiapacific-lotteries.com