Lottery Partnership Brings New Computer Lab to Boys and Girls Club

RALEIGH, North Carolina (January 18, 2019) -- Every day the lottery works to raise money for education in North Carolina.

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And now, thanks to a lottery partnership, students in Aberdeen are getting the tools they need to succeed.

IGT is one of our partners. They provide the technology that helps us offer fun and exciting games. This week, they unveiled a new computer lab at the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills in Aberdeen.

The computer lab includes 25 IdeaPad Chromebooks, 1 Dell Laptop, 1 Interactive Whiteboard, 2 Dell Desktops, a printer, and a charging cart.

Not every child has access to a computer after school. The lab is designed to help meet that need so students can succeed with homework and studying.

This is the seventh computer lab IGT has donated in North Carolina.

It’s partnerships like this one that help the lottery raise more than $650 million a year for education in the state.

That money goes to all of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Last year, Moore County received $4.7 million of that funding.

SOURCE: North Carolina Education Lottery.

Neopollard Interactive Celebrates the Success of Its 3rd DigitalXchange Client Conference

LANSING, Michigan (January 22, 2019) -- NeoPollard Interactive LLC (“NeoPollard Interactive” or “NPi”) is pleased to announce that its third digitalXchange client conference, held in Las Vegas from January 15-17, was a great success. The two-day event, which brought together lottery professionals from around the globe, focused on sharing strategies built around Elevating the Player Experience.

The event drew in a record level of attendance with 23 lotteries represented. The record attendance was treated to an inspiring message from the event’s keynote speaker, Brian Killingsworth, the Chief Marketing Officer of the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights are succeeding in a new market by delivering high caliber, engaging experiences to fans in the entertainment capital of the world, leading to the team becoming one of the hottest tickets in the league. Killingsworth’s message resonated with lotteries as they face similar challenges in their digital journeys.

The agenda for this year’s digitalXchange was packed with engaging presentations from lottery professionals sharing their successes and key learnings as they continue to leverage the new opportunities that digital offers.

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As lotteries begin to engage in the digital space, whether through digital marketing or digital products and solutions, such as mobile apps, loyalty programs, and iLottery offerings, they are empowered to learn more about consumer preferences through these digital interactions. Naturally, this allows lotteries to build robust player profiles in support of more effective player acquisition and retention strategies.

“As our signature event, NPi is proud to have established a forum where lotteries can come together to share insights and lessons learned,” said Liz Siver, General Manager of NeoPollard Interactive.

“The digitalXchange conference successfully generated thought-provoking discussions specific to the evolving use of digital products, solutions, and marketing tactics geared towards engaging players in ways that meet and exceed their expectations as digital consumers.”

“It is unfortunate that the recent opinion of the Department of Justice has cast uncertainty throughout the industry over the future of iLottery. We expect, however, to receive clarification that in-state purchases of lottery products will be acceptable, and we will work with our lottery partners to defend this interpretation. As the leading provider of iLottery games and related services, this interpretation supports NPi’s mission to continue providing entertaining and secure interactive products to the lottery market. The pace of digital is changing the way lotteries do business and we look forward to our next digitalXchange to continue informing the next evolution of digital successes.”

About NeoPollard Interactive

NeoPollard Interactive LLC (“NeoPollard Interactive”) is jointly owned by two of the world’s most trusted and reputable companies in lottery and internet gaming—Pollard Banknote Limited (“Pollard Banknote”) and NeoGames S.a.r.L. (“NeoGames”). Established in 2014, NeoPollard Interactive combines the marketing expertise and extensive worldwide lottery experience of Pollard Banknote with the proven leadership and technology of NeoGames in launching new online and mobile gaming products and services suited to an ever-evolving marketplace. The company leverages the strengths of each partner company to develop, implement, operate, and maintain innovative online gaming services that enable regulated lottery clients to generate revenues for good causes.

CONTACTS:

SOURCE: NeoPollard Interactive LLC.

Skilrock to Exhibit Its ‘Genius in Gaming’ DNA at ICE, London

GURGAON, India (January 22, 2019) -- The Gaming world is incomplete without king of the events called : ‘ICE London’.

Skilrock has been continually showcasing its innovative concepts at ICE London for the past 9 years.

This year, aligning itself with the fascinating theme, Skilrock will present its ‘Infinitely Genius’ products and concepts that promises to truly enthral you.

Mr. Sujit Lahiry, Executive Director at Skilrock Technologies Pvt. Ltd, commented “It is that time of the year when London is calling ….. Asking everyone in the industry to immerse themselves in totally gaming experience at no less than the grand scale Excel Centre.

Aligning ourselves with this year’s theme, Skilrock is looking forward to the presence of its clients and well-wishers to unfold some of the INFINITELY GENIUS products and concepts that will amaze everyone. Looking forward to everyone’s visit to our stand, right in front of the N1 gate: N1- 510 : You just can't miss it .”

About Skilrock Technologies

Skilrock Technologies is a leading technology solution provider for the lottery, gaming and payment industry with its R&D centres located at global IT hubs. It is technology arm of $2 billion Sugal & Damani Group, who are leaders of Indian lottery & gaming operations. The Omni-Channel Gaming Platform of Skilrock serves RETAIL, iGAMING & SELF SERVICE channels with equal ease and at the same time supporting a wide variety of games like Lotto, Keno, Bingo, Instant, Sports, Poker, Rummy, Casino and Slots.

More than 120,000 retail touch points and over 5 million iGaming players across 22 jurisdictions have been serviced by Skilrock.

SOURCE:  Skilrock Technologies.

The Intelligent Future of Gaming is Showcased by INTRALOT at  ICE Totally Gaming 2019, 5-7 February, London ExCel, UK

ATHENS, Greece (January 21, 2019) -- The future of gaming is not just digital. It is actually intelligent. INTRALOT has embarked on a holistic cross channel, cross vertical approach to Lottery and Betting solutions that reflect the tectonic changes in the digital era both in terms of consumer behavior and new technology trends for Digital Transformation. As a leading gaming solutions supplier to regulated operators around the globe INTRALOT exhibits at ICE 2019, in London, 5-7 February the benchmark and driver of the B2B Gaming industry's international growth that brings together more than 33,000 visitors and 8,500 operators from over 150 countries in the award winning INTRALOT ICONIC PAVILION, stand #N4-360. The company showcases its next-generation products that cater to players’ modern needs and offer entertaining and responsible gaming experiences, revealing a comprehensive digital transformation strategy in a multi-connected world.

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INTRALOT, ranking among EU’s top industrial R&D spenders according to the EU Commissions Scoreboard for the past 10 years, embraces change and evolution by investing extensively on technology innovation in order to meet the fast-changing needs of consumers and clients and maintain our leadership position in the gaming industry. To this respect INTRALOT’s Lottery and Sports Betting Solutions focus on a holistic approach that involves cross-platform and cross-vertical infrastructure, along with a modern touchpoint philosophy and reduced costs of ownership.

INTRALOT’s next-generation products answer all the digital transformation questions for Lotteries. Lotos X, is the most advanced, future-proof, and fully parametrical Lottery Platform. It enables lottery operators to design, configure, and implement their entire gaming offering as well as their planned portfolio expansion. Game and draw lifecycles are managed and monitored through a fast, real-time process, achieving minimum time-to-market and an unprecedented simplification of lottery operators’ day-to-day activities. It offers a true omni-channel experience to the end user, satisfying every channel’s specific need. Lotos X is designed following the notions of innovation, flexibility and scalability, expected to shape next-generation player experiences.

Leveraging more than 25 years of worldwide, in-field experience and an industry-leading portfolio of 29 sports betting projects and operations, INTRALOT developed INTRALOT Orion, its next-generation, feature-rich and versatile sports betting platform. INTRALOT Orion sits at the heart of a holistic Sports Betting Solution that incorporates managed trading services and a wide portfolio of terminals, both for the player and for the retailer, tailored to the needs of each sports betting operation. The platform serves the entire player journey across channels with a rich set of bet features, while it enables parametrization of the sports betting content and differentiated risk management on a per-channel basis.

INTRALOT Orion and Lotos X can be optionally enhanced with CMS marketing tools and PAM platforms, which carry the latest security and transparency features, KYC and geo-fencing, and payment provider integration capabilities.

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Click here for the latest electronic version of Lottery Insights.

During ICE 2019, INTRALOT will also present a vast variety of options for the retail ecosystem combining great performance with in-store modernization to efficiently fulfil every sports betting and lottery operation needs.

In terminal technology INTRALOT will showcase Photon & Proton the terminals which utilize innovative image scanning technology and offer the smallest footprint in their class with top-notch processing power and unique modular architecture, combined with many options and add-ons.

In Vending and self-service terminals, INTRALOT will present for the first time in Europe the brand-new terminals Winstation 30 & Dreamtouch Smart, the best in class vending designed specifically for the sales of scratch, draw-based and instants games offering the largest scratch ticket capacity in the industry in their categories.

We are inviting you to our ICONIC PAVILLION for a thrilling experience and to learn more about our next-generation solutions designed to support Lotteries’ step to their digital future by focusing on holistic solutions and advanced technological innovations.

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: Mr. Chris Sfatos, Group Corporate Affairs Director, Phone: +30-210 6156000, Fax: +30-210 6106800, email: sfatos@intralot.com.

SOURCE: INTRALOT (www.intralot.com).

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) is the Only Lab at ICE 2019 That Can Take You Anywhere in the World

GLI to Showcase its Industry-leading iGaming, Sports Wagering,  and Cybersecurity Expertise at Stand N3-210

HAARLEM, The Netherlands (January 24, 2019) – With interactive gaming (iGaming) and sports wagering the hot topics at this year’s ICE 2019 gaming trade show in London, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI®) will have a team of locally focused iGaming, sports wagering, and cybersecurity experts at its stand N3-210 to help attendees confidently navigate the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of online, sports wagering, and interactive gaming technologies. They are eager to demonstrate the many ways regulators, operators, and suppliers can achieve success with GLI’s decades of tested, proven, and trusted global iGaming and sports wagering experience, knowledge, and capabilities.

As pioneers in interactive gaming and sports wagering testing and consultancy, GLI® Digital is everywhere iGaming and sports wagering are going. GLI Digital is trusted by iGaming regulators the world over and is approved in all regulated iGaming and sports wagering markets.

GLI’s experts will also be at ICE 2019 to demonstrate how GLI is the only lab that can take suppliers’ newest gaming innovations anywhere in the world they want them to go. GLI is strengthening its hand in EMEA by increasing staff and expanding its technical capabilities.

Now with more world-class testing, assessment, and certification bandwidth throughout EMEA, GLI is better equipped than ever to help get suppliers’ gaming and lottery products over the line and into global markets with unsurpassed quality, speed, reliability, accuracy, and cost-saving efficiency.

The unrelenting threat of cyber-attacks on the worldwide gaming and lottery industries has made cybersecurity a mission-critical topic at this year’s ICE show. Attendees who visit stand N3-210 will learn how GLI’s cutting-edge Cyber Security Services provides the industry’s most sophisticated and advanced cybersecurity countermeasures to help secure their operations and protect their most valuable assets 24/7.

“The global gaming and lottery industries are undergoing a period of unprecedented change and growth that is both exciting and challenging,” said Martin Britton, Managing Director of EMEA. “We look forward to sharing with this year’s ICE attendees how GLI can help operators, suppliers, and regulators overcome obstacles, maximize opportunities, and achieve success in the iGaming, sports wagering, and land-based gaming and lottery sectors. With more than 1,200 employees in 23 locations on six continents, only GLI has the unmatched global resources capable of delivering the highest levels of quality, accuracy, and rapid testing times to our valued clients and customers throughout Europe and the world.”

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: +1 (702) 914-2220 or E: c.eickelman@gaminglabs.com.

SOURCE: Gaming Laboratories International.

FDJ Group Announce Bets of €15,817 Million in 2018, Up + 4.4% Compared to 2017 Driven By Investment in Digital, Sports Betting in the Context of the World Cup and Heritage Mission Games

• Investment in digital supports the growth of all games: digitized * point-of-sale and online updates are up 46% to € 2.4 billion, or 15%
• Sports betting breaks the € 3 billion barrier, + 21%
  -- Record betting for the World Cup, 333 M €, + 75% compared to 2014
  -- + 60% increase in digitized sports bets to € 1.8 billion
• Progression of lottery games, + 1% to € 12.8 billion
  -- Successful Mission Patrimoine games , whose sale ends, € 187m in bids, € 21m in favor of French heritage in danger
  -- + 12% increase in online lottery games
• Stabilization of the network, with 30,000 retailers, with growth of nearly 4%

The FDJ group, a world leader in lottery games and sports betting, announces bets of €15,817 million in 2018, up + 4.4% compared to 2017.

FDJ distributed €10.7 billion to customers, a return rate close to 68%, up almost +1 percentage point compared to 2017 due to the rise in sports betting. The State has benefited from levies, up by €3.3 billion.

For Stéphane Pallez, President and CEO of the FDJ Group: " The continued growth in bids reflects the successful execution of our FDJ 2020 strategy, focusing on areas such as digital and innovation, which enhance the attractiveness of our games and distribution channels. 2018 has been marked by many successes, including Mission Patrimoine games that illustrate FDJ's redistributive game model. These results reinforce our ambitions of anticipating developments in the gaming and entertainment sector in order to increase the Group's leadership with enriched and unpublished gaming experiences. "

Unaudited data

* Digitized uploads include online uploads and dematerialized updates in point of sale ie using a digital service / application for their preparation, before registration by the retailer

** The stakes are the stake of the players and do not constitute the turnover of the group FDJ

*** Scraping (in point of sale and online)

Investment in digital supports the growth of all gaming activities

The FDJ 2020 strategic plan, with € 500 million in investments by 2020, ie nearly € 400 million to date, including € 100 million in 2018, aims to accelerate the Group's digital transformation in the service of its development.

The year 2018 benefits from the digitization of the uses of the customers in all the segments of game, sports betting like lottery. Digitized bets increased by + 45.5% to € 2,429m. Their share reaches 15% of the total bet, vs. 11% in 2017. This result confirms the objective of the FDJ 2020 strategic plan to achieve 20% digitized bets in 2020.

This digital progression comes from the development of online gaming and the dematerialization of sales enhancements, including:

• for lottery games: simplification of online distribution, with all the draw and scratch games now available in the same mobile application, available on all types of media, and the "mobile first" operation of the fdj website. fr benefits enriched in terms of features and graphics;
• for ParionsSport: the success of the "mobile first" strategy with a redesign of the ergonomics of mobile applications and websites, as well as the deployment of more than 1,000 terminals for cloud-based betting.

Sports betting rose by + 21% to € 3,047 million, in the context of the World Cup and the development of the digital point-of-sale

ParionsSport  grew + 21% to € 3,047 million, fueled by the World Cup and by the digital sector: + 60.4% digitized bets at € 1,840 million to represent 60% of paris vs. 46% in 2017.

FDJ ranks among the top 10 global sports betting operators.

The bets registered during the World Cup amounted to € 333 million, up 75% compared to the same event in 2014, thanks in particular to the course of the Equipe de France. Outside the World Cup, the dynamics of sports betting remained strong with growth of + 8%.

Throughout the year, ParionsSport has continued its commercial momentum with numerous initiatives to develop its audience, online and in point of sale, including:

• an attractive listing policy;
• the continuation of the enrichment of the offer, with the launch of bets on 6 new sports (golf, badminton ...) and new bets on 4 main sports (football, basketball, tennis and rugby; World, more bets were possible);
• strengthening the visibility of the ParionsSport brand and the loyalty of players.

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In the wake of the World Cup, ParionsSport signed for four years partnerships with four major French football clubs (Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, AS Monaco and FC Nantes), and launched with each of them the challenge " "Parions Club" which allows the best bettors of each club, in addition to their financial gain, to be starified in the stadiums or in the points of sale.

2019 --although an odd year, will include significant events such as the world championship of women's football, basketball and rugby. ParionsSport will benefit from a better visibility, thanks to its partnerships with the big 4 clubs of Ligue 1 and with the one signed with the NBA. The point-of-sale offer will be reinforced with 4 new sports on offer and a more attractive LotoFoot.

Lottery games rose by + 1.1% to € 12,770m, driven by Mission Heritage games and instant lottery games

Lottery games, instant lottery and draw games increased by + 1.1% to € 12,770 million.

Instant lottery games (point-of-sale scratch games and online games) continue to grow, up 3.2% to € 7,694m. This performance is explained by:

• the fad for the Mission Patrimoine event game , on a new € 15 stake (the sale ends with more than € 172m in bids) and the success of the X20 game (€ 5), which make the successful games at 5 € and more. These last represent more than 2/3 of the games of scratch;
• the reinforcement of the "entry-level" games portfolio with the successful return of the iconic Morpion brand , in the form of an ephemeral game on the unpublished segment of € 0.50, and the launch or re-launch of several perennial games including Black Jack (2 €) and Maxi Goal! (3 €);

The draw games (Lotto, EuroMillions-My Million, Keno winning for life and Amigo) totaled

€ 5 076 million, or -1.9% compared to 2017, with players who favored high jackpot draws , events (Super Lotto, Super Jackpot ...) or cumulative (following a series of consecutive draws without a winner).

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• The games, Loto and EuroMillions-My Million, which represent nearly 60% of the bids in the category, have seen the success of the Mission Loto Heritage (more than 14 M € in bets, + 30% compared to a classic draw) and major win events such as the J ackpot Boosté , Super Lotto , Millionaires Week , Friday the 13th ...
• Keno winner Lifetime displays a stability of its set and begins to benefit from its relaunch in early November 2018 on the occasion of his 25 th birthday;
• the growing Amigo express raffle game benefited from regular promotional actions and an expansion of the POS network.

The development of digital power is a consistent source of dynamism in lottery games, be it instant lottery games or draw games. Online gambling bets are up + 12%. This result can be explained by the recruitment of players, close to 1.9 million at the end of 2018, and the animation of the online games portfolio, with a launch, a restart or a modification every week.

In 2019, the strategy of innovation and personalized marketing actions will be continued. After the launch at the beginning of January of The Wall-face on the wall , a 5 € event-based scratch game inspired by the televised game show, FDJ will experiment at the national level with a first digital scratch game in the network, will propose a new Mission Heritage games offer  and will launch at the end of the year a renovated Loto.

The physical network confirms its strength and attractiveness, with € 15 billion in bids, up + 3.7% over 2017

The FDJ network is almost stable, with more than 30,000 points of sale. The vast majority of them come from the network of bar-tobacco-press, a little more than 5% belong to other networks of proximity.

New retailer compensation method

Thanks to the establishment of an agreement signed in early 2018 with the Confederation of tobacconists and Press Culture, FDJ has strengthened the remuneration and involvement of retailers in its commercial priorities and in its priorities in terms of corporate social responsibility.

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In 2018, this resulted in the abolition of rents for point-of-sale furniture as well as the remuneration of vouchers and promotional coupons. In 2019, it will vary the remuneration of retailers according to gambling ranges and prices.

In this context, the net remuneration received by FDJ retailers reached €785 million in 2018, up + 5.7% compared to 2017.

Commercial transformation

After the internalization of its sales force and the setting up of its own logistics, FDJ has completed its commercial transformation and has direct control over its network.

The Group continued to make significant investments in sales outlets, particularly in information systems and facilities.

About the FDJ group:

National Lottery and French leader in gambling, 2 nd lottery in Europe and 4th in the world, FDJ offers in point of sale and on line a public offer, fun, responsible and secure of more than 90 games: lottery games - draw ( Lotto, EuroMillions ... ) and scratching ( Millionaire, Astro, Vegas, Cash ... ) - and sports betting ( ParionsSport ).

FDJ performance is supported by a portfolio of iconic brands, historic and recent, 1 st close sales network in France, a growing market, recurring investment and innovation strategy for increased attractiveness of its offer and of its distribution with an enriched gaming experience.

In 2018, with 25 million players, more than 30,000 points of sale and 2,300 employees, FDJ registered €15.8 billion in bids, 15% of which were digitized. It distributed €10.7 billion to its players, contributed € 3.6 billion to public finances and remunerated its retail network for €0.8 billion.

SOURCE: FDJ group:

WyoLotto Launches New Powerball Giveaway

CHEYENNE, Wyoming (January 22, 2019) -- WyoLottoTM has announced that a new Powerball giveaway has come to Wyoming, giving players more chances to win great prizes.

“Playing Powerball just got more exciting,” CEO Jon Clontz said. “We have some amazing prizes in addition to your chance at winning the Powerball jackpot. These prizes are for players who purchase their Powerball tickets only at Wyoming retailers, so your chances are much higher to win.”

When players purchase a Powerball ticket from a Wyoming retailer starting on January 21 at 5:00 a.m. through 11:59 p.m. on April 19, they’ll receive a unique code each day that they can enter at wyolotto.com for a chance to win the following prizes:

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• Grand Prize: 2019 Chevy pickup truck
• First Prize: $20,000 cash
• Second Prize: A travel camper
• Third Prize: A riverboat and trailer

The more days you purchase Powerball tickets, the more chances you have to enter and win these great prizes. Winners of the Powerball giveaway will be announced May 1 on WyoLotto’s Facebook page. For more information on this giveaway visit our video at wyolotto.com/play/powerball/.

About WyoLotto

The Wyoming Lottery is a Wyoming brand, born and raised in the Cowboy State. WyoLotto games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Cowboy Draw, and Lucky for Life.

To receive updates and notifications about Cowboy Draw, Lucky for Life, Mega Millions or Powerball, visit wyolotto.com/signup.

The Wyoming Lottery Corp. is a corporate business entity established by House Bill 77 in the 2013 legislative session and signed into law by Governor Matt Mead. The corporation operates as a private business and does not employ state employees or use state tax money. State law requires Lottery revenue to be distributed to cities, towns and counties based on ticket sales. 

SOURCE: The Wyoming Lottery press release.

The Virginia Lottery is on Pace for Another Record-Setting Year

The Score at Halftime: Solid Performance for Virginia Lottery

RICHMOND, VA (January 23, 2019) -- With the first half of Fiscal Year 2019 complete, the Virginia Lottery is on pace for another record-setting year.

Today, Virginia Lottery officials announced that overall Lottery sales in Virginia totalled $1.16 billion from July through December, which is an increase of more than 10 percent from the same time last year. The Lottery’s fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30.

Those record sales for the first two quarters led to profits of $321 million, a 7-percent increase over the previous year. By law, all Virginia Lottery profits benefit K-12 education in the Commonwealth.

The sales and revenue numbers were announced at today's quarterly meeting of the Virginia Lottery Board.

“The Virginia Lottery represents good fun for a great cause, and our players are helping us build another record year of support for Virginia’s public schools,” said Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall.

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“We’re proud of the continuing popularity of our broad mix of games and prizes. We’re also seeing success in our efforts to use new technology to make our products more convenient and fun for consumers.”

In addition to record sales and profits for the first half of the fiscal year, players took home a record $721.8 million in prize money, and retailers who sell Virginia Lottery games earned a record $65.4 million in commissions.

One big part of the Lottery’s record-setting pace is the Mega Millions jackpot run in October that culminated in a $1.537 billion jackpot for the Oct. 23 drawing. In the hours leading up to that drawing, Mega Millions tickets were being sold in Virginia at a rate of about 12,000 tickets per minute.

That’s not the only good news generated by the Virginia Lottery in the first half of FY19. The Lottery’s new mobile app was downloaded more than 93,000 times during those six months. The app provides many handy features, including jackpot information, retail locations, and resources about responsible gaming. In addition, mobile customers have the ability to scan their own tickets to see if they’ve won – an important security feature – and consumers also can enter promotions by scanning right from the app.

In addition, Virginia Lottery online subscriptions grew by 94 percent from the previous year. The Lottery offers subscriptions for Mega Millions, Powerball and CASH4LIFE®, which gives customers within the boundaries of Virginia the convenience of playing from their mobile device or home.

Now in its 30th year, the Virginia Lottery generates more than $1.6 million per day for Virginia’s K-12 public schools. Operating entirely on revenue from the sale of Lottery products, the Lottery generated more than $600 million for Virginia’s public schools in Fiscal Year 2018. In addition, more than $14 million in unclaimed Virginia Lottery prizes went to Virginia’s Literary Fund in FY18 for school construction, renovation, and technology upgrades. For more information and a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Playing Matters page. You can also visit our website, download our app, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and check us out on YouTube. Please play responsibly.

SOURCE: Virginia Lottery.

The Florida Lottery to Launch New Draw Game

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (January 23, 2019) – The Florida Lottery is proud to announce that on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, it will launch the new Draw game JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY with ComboTM.  The new game will replace the LUCKY MONEY™ game that is ending on January 29, 2019.

JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY is unique in that for $1 players get a triple chance to win the jackpot, as each ticket has three sets of numbers to match with the winning numbers drawn. Also, the game’s jackpot rolls over and down to make bigger prizes.

Jackpots start at $500,000 and can roll over to reach $2 million before rolling down to increase the lower-prize levels in each drawing until the jackpot is won.

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Players win by matching three or more numbers from the same set to the winning numbers drawn. Players can get an extra chance to win by combining all matches on the ticket by adding Combo for $1 more.

JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY tickets go on sale Wednesday, January 30, 2019. JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY drawings will be held Tuesday and Friday nights at 11:15 p.m., ET, with the first drawing being held on Friday, February 1, 2019.

LUCKY MONEY ticket sales will end at 10:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, with the final drawing being held that evening at 11:15 p.m.

If there is not a jackpot winner in the final LUCKY MONEY drawing, the jackpot will roll and be carried over to the JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY jackpot for the first drawing.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA LOTTERY

The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $34 billion to education and sending more than 808,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

The Florida Lottery reinvests 97 percent of its revenue back into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,000 Florida retailers and contributions to education.

Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $61.2 billion in prizes and made more than 2,000 people millionaires. For more information, please visit:: www.flalottery.com.

SOURCE: Florida Lottery.

Svenska Spel and the Swedish Ice Hockey Association Extend Their Cooperation

Svenska Spel extends the collaboration with the Swedish Ice Hockey Association until 2025 with an option for another two years

VISBY, Sweden (January 21, 2019) – “Svenska Spel and the Swedish Ice Hockey Association have a long and successful story together. Through the extension of the agreement, we can continue to create the right conditions for Swedish hockey to continue their fine development,” says Patrik Hofbauer, CEO of Svenska Spel.

Svenska Spel has been the main sponsor of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association for over twenty years.

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The collaboration has included the Hockey Academy, which is the Swedish hockey's development program for players from Tre Kronors Hockey School up to the Swedish junior national teams.

The current agreement extends up to and including 2021, but now one is agreeing on an extension.

“Ice hockey is one of our most popular sports and every year our national teams stand for fantastic efforts. The collaboration enables us to participate in developing Swedish ice hockey all the way, from the very smallest in Tre Kronors Hockey School, to our popular national team at the women's and men's side,” says Patrik Hofbauer.

“We are very pleased that our long-term cooperation with Svenska Spel continues. The long-term perspective of Svenska Spel's commitment means a great deal and gives us the opportunity to realize our vision of becoming the best at all levels, making ice hockey accessible to more and being Sweden's most engaging sport. Svenska Spel also cares for the sport and conducts its business with a high degree of gaming responsibility, which is important for us at a new license market,” says Tommy Boustedt, Secretary General of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.

The new agreement, including the option years, is worth over SEK 200 million. In addition, a championship bonus can also fall out. The bonus, which is the same for the men's and women's national teams, can amount to a maximum of SEK 1.5 million per year if both Tre Kronor and Damkronorna win the World Cup gold. The new agreement will apply from July 1, 2019.

For more information, please CONTACT: Johan Söderkvist, PR project manager Svenska Spel, telephone +46 70-245 31 16.

SOURCE: Svenska Spel.

Dutch Postcode Lottery Continues Support Human Rights

€6.75 Million over Five Years for Human Rights Watch’s Work

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (January 23, 2019) – Human Rights Watch thanks the Dutch Postcode Lottery and its players for their steadfast support of our work with €1.35 million a year for another five years.

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Support from players of the Dutch Postcode Lottery since 2009 has helped Human Rights Watch strengthen its research and advocacy work worldwide, as well as establish and develop its activities in the Netherlands.

Since its founding in 1989, the Dutch Postcode Lottery has contributed €5.5 billion to good causes. It now supports 103 organizations worldwide and plays a pioneering role in the quest for a fair and sustainable world.

In 2018 the Dutch Postcode Lottery donated €357 million to organizations.

“Known for its meticulous research and effective advocacy, Human Rights Watch defends human rights and secures justice around the world,” said Margriet Schreuders, head of charities at the Dutch Postcode Lottery.

“We are very proud that we are, thanks to our lottery participants, able to continue supporting Human Rights Watch’s important and courageous work in the coming years.”

The Postcode Lottery’s generous support will strengthen Human Rights Watch’s ability to investigate wrongdoing, expose the facts widely, and engage the public as well as those in power for rights-respecting change.

We will enlist innovative tools, including digital advocacy campaigns, to build greater support for the fundamental values on which human rights are based: justice, dignity, and equality.

“The Lottery’s unwavering commitment to justice and social change is incredibly important to us as we work to protect human rights and defend the principles that underpin them,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

SOURCE: Human Rights Watch.

ICE London Breaks Through Landmark Figure of 600 Exhibitors

LONDON (January 22, 2018) -- Gaming professionals preparing for ICE London (5th – 7th February, ExCeL London, UK), will be part of the biggest celebration of world gaming on record.Official figures confirm the 2019 edition will showcase 612 exhibitor brands from 66 countries, up from the 2018 figure of 589 from 65 nations with the ICE London show floor now occupying 38 of ExCeL London's 44 halls (36 in 2018).

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Commenting on the latest data, Kate Chambers, who is Managing Director of Clarion Gaming and the person who has overseen the development of ICE London into the pre-eminent gaming event on the international calendar, stated: “The starting point for any exhibition is its exhibitors: great exhibitors attract serious buyers and the more buyers you can attract, the more exhibitors are interested in your event and so the process goes on.  With this in mind, we have worked extremely hard to attract the most innovative organisations in world gaming onto the ICE London show floor and I am delighted that we have succeeded in breaking through the 600 figure in light of what that means for our huge community of visitors who travel to ICE London to be inspired."

She added: “The net floor space has grown from the 2018 figure of 43,500sqm to 45,500sqm, an increase of just under 5 percent.  I would like to stress that this isn’t a one-off spike in demand, but part of a trend which stretches back to 2012, when the show floor comprised 22,500sqm.  Since then, ICE London has grown year-on-year and is now more than twice its 2012 size.  When visitors attend ICE London, they have direct access to the smartest innovators in world gaming, showing products and services that harness the latest advances in technology.  No other exhibition can come close to delivering this quality and in such numbers covering all of the gaming verticals.”

For more information, and to register for ICE London 2019 (5-7 February, ExCeL London, UK), visit: icelondon.uk.com

SOURCE: Clarion Gaming press release.