IGT
Adding Bingo to Drive Play Across the Digital Portfolio
U.K. (April 4, 2019) -- As Norway
launches online bingo with enhanced features and content, heres a look at
how the game can boost your digital scorecard.
IGT 250Bingo is so often associated
with its traditional, land-based format that its easy to underestimate
the appeal of advanced digital forms of the game. In fact, Bingo is currently
one of the most popular community-based sectors in digital gaming.
Bingo Mob reIn late March, the
Norwegian state lottery, Norsk Tipping, went live with PlayBingo, the newly
enhanced digital bingo platform from IGT, including a customizable version of
Picture Bingo, allowing operators to tailor the game for relevance to their
market.
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Notably, its the way that
online communities tend to engage with one another while playing digital Bingo
that makes it a powerful driver of crossover play to other games in the digital
portfolio.
For example, the PlayBingo platform
used by Norway includes IGT PlayCasino slot titles and a selection of
mini-games that can be played for fun between or during rounds, while extensive
chat features let players socialize with one another, all in a single window.
As players encounter other game categories in the same window as
bingo, they often multitask in the game," said Hans Erland Ringsvold, Head
of Gaming Operations, Norsk Tipping. They spend time chatting and
talking about games, supporting each other with tips on new functionality,
congratulating one another on wins, and trying new games in other
categories.
Weve seen the
crossover value of digital Bingo again and again in various regions of Europe
and North America, underlining the importance of providing a full suite of
digital games to players, said IGTs Srini Nedunuri, Vice
President, IGT PlayDigital Platform.
Bingo LT 500Nedunuri reports that
proprietary data from the European market shows the potential to significantly
improve a lotterys overall revenues with the help of PlayBingo.
For example, the data for
one lottery shows an average of 2.8 additional games played as a result of
playing bingo, with the majority being sports betting, along with a high
percentage of casino, poker, instant win, and lottery games. And, the cost per
acquisition for bingo is lowest among all other digital gaming
verticals.
In addition to crossover appeal, the
vertical supports responsible gaming through its social aspect and low average
player spend.
Since 2014, IGT has supplied Norway
with a Flash-based interactive bingo solution. With Flash use waning, IGT
developed the new PlayBingo platform with HTML5 to ensure universal playback,
updated security, and richer features across all browsers and mobile operating
systems.
The platform gives Norsk Tipping and
other lotteries a flexible and engaging addition to the digital portfolio,
enabling them to generate interactive casino revenues on top of their bingo
returns.
One of the keys to digital
gaming is keeping everything fresh and new, said Nedunuri.
With a steady stream of fresh content, PlayBingo players keep coming
back to try more.
SOURCE: IGT via WLA.
Pollard Banknote Receives Five-Year Contract Renewal from the
Interprovincial Lottery Corporation
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Canada (April 9,
2019) -- Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) (Pollard Banknote) is
pleased to announce the signing of a five-year renewal to its Instant Printing
Services Agreement with the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation
(ILC), which commenced December 31, 2018.
Under this agreement, Pollard
Banknote will continue to provide Instant tickets, game design, and related
services to the five Canadian regional lottery corporations, which work
together through the ILC to undertake national lottery games.
Pollard Banknote has been a partner
to the ILC for nearly 30 years. ILCs expertise as the coordinating agent
representing each of the five Canadian lotteries, combined with Pollard
Banknotes selection of print innovations and unrivalled understanding of
the Canadian market, has led to the development of numerous top-selling
regionally-specific national games over the decades.
Two past examples of wildly
successful game releases are testaments to this strong partnership Ultra,
and X Money. Both games showcased Pollard Banknotes dazzling Spectrum
Scratch FX® a feature that adds the look of radiant colour-tinted
foil to the tickets.
This not only helped boost
visibility at retail, but brought with it strong sales results. X Money, for
example, was a top selling ticket within each and every one of the five
jurisdictions overseen by the ILC.
Pollard Banknote is
thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to build on the successful
partnership we have established with the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation
over three decades, said Brad Thompson, Vice President, Sales &
Marketing, Pollard Banknote.
The Lottery utilizes its
multi-provincial strength, as well as Pollard Banknotes leading-edge
printing processes, to create dynamic national games that players love. We look
forward to continuing to support the ILC with exciting new tickets that stand
out at retail using our eye-catching designs, and are committed to continue our
productive collaboration over the upcoming years.
The ILC is a nationwide lottery
organization incorporated in 1976. The five Canadian regional lottery
corporations that are members of the ILC include the Atlantic Lottery
Corporation (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince
Edward Island), Loto-Québec, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
(OLG), the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), and the British Columbia Lottery
Corporation.
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These lottery corporations are
responsible for games in their respective jurisdictions, and oversee the
planning, risk management, and business oversight of national initiatives
through the ILC Board, its Executive Committee, and other specific committees
and working groups.
About Pollard Banknote
Pollard Banknote is a leading
lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high quality
instant ticket products, licensed games, Schafer Systems retail merchandising
solutions, and a full suite of digital offerings, ranging from game apps to
comprehensive player engagement and iLottery solutions, including strategic
marketing and management services.
The company is a proven innovator
and has decades of experience helping lotteries to maximize player engagement,
sales, and proceeds for good causes.
Pollard Banknote also provides
pull-tab tickets, bingo paper, and its Diamond Game and Oasis-branded
electronic ticket machines to charitable and other gaming markets in North
America.
Established in 1907, Pollard
Banknote is owned approximately 67.6% by the Pollard family and 32.4% by public
shareholders, and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). For more information,
please visit our website at:
www.pollardbanknote.com.
CONTACT:
Doug Pollard,
Co-Chief Executive
Officer,
Telephone: (204) 474-2323
E-mail: dpollard@pbl.ca
|
John Pollard,
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (204) 474-2323
E-mail: jpollard@pbl.ca
|
Rob Rose,
Chief Financial Officer,
Telephone: (204) 474-2323
E-mail: rrose@pbl.ca |
SOURCE: Pollard Banknote
Limited.
Svenska Spel Stops Online Casino
Advertising
VISBY, Sweden (April 8, 2019) -- At
the end of last week, at Svenska Spel we decided to stop our online casino
advertising. This applies to all media channels during the rest of 2019. The
decision has been preceded by intensive internal discussions about how we best
protect our customers.
Svenska Spel has always driven the
line that all games in the licensing market should be risk-classed and that
stricter rules should apply to the more risky games, both in terms of design
and marketing. With the advertising stop for online casino, we are now taking
the full step.
No form of play is completely
without risk for anyone who has a risk behavior. But the difference between
different game forms is huge. If you look at the Public Health Authority's new
survey that came last week, you see that net casino is in a class of its own.
30 percent of online casino players have problems managing their gaming. This
compares with, for example, three percent for those who scratch Triss or play
the Lotto over the net.
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The guidelines' annual report for
2018 confirms this picture. Over 60 percent of the callers indicate online
casino as the main problem game. No other form of play is nearby. The closest
is sports betting of 15 percent.
These are facts that we discussed at
Svenska Spel last week and that made us put down our foot. Our online casino
advertising already had a restrictive design, but now we choose to completely
stop advertising for the rest of the year.
One can have objections. There seems
to be no general link between game advertising and gaming problems. The public
health authority's recent statistics show that fewer people experience problems
with their gambling now than three years ago, despite increased advertising
volume. The general gambling problems do not only increase because the
advertisements do so.
But at the same time, several
surveys indicate that those who already have a problem gambling are triggered
by the advertisement. In the Public Health Authority's report, we can see that
the group with serious gambling problems has grown strongly in recent years and
now consists of about 45,000 people. This indicates that those who are already
at risk are adversely affected by advertising.
That is why we now stop the online
casino advertising: Simply because we are not attracting people with an already
risky gaming behavior to the most risky form of play.
Not long after Svenska Spel took
this decision, three gambling managers with net casino wrote in their product
portfolio a debate article in Dagens Industri . They also wanted to see a
stop
for Triss-scrap in Nyhetsmorgon. About online casino advertising,
they had nothing to say.
If you are serious about taking
responsibility, then you should address the problems where the problems exist,
even if it strikes the revenue in the short term. In the long term, this is the
only sustainable one. It is also only when we can improve the industry's
reputation.
We would like more gaming companies
to join a promotional stop for online casino. It would show that the gaming
industry is taking consumer protection seriously.
Patrik Hofbauer
CEO, Svenska Spel
The
Kentucky Lottery Turns 30
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (April 4, 2019)
-- On an early morning in Louisville on April 4th 1989, then-Governor Wallace
Wilkinson stepped in front of a huge wall of cameras and microphones at the
Thorntons gas station on Preston Highway in Louisville. He walked to the
cash register, handed over $3, and bought the first two tickets sold for the
brand-new Kentucky Lottery.
Neither of the two tickets Wilkinson
bought that morning turned out to be winners. However, after $20 billion in
sales during the past 30 years, Kentucky Lottery players have received over $12
billion in prizes.
Thanks to our incredible
network of retailers and the confidence the people of Kentucky have shown in
our games, weve been able to achieve significant growth and support a
variety of programs in the Commonwealth over the past three decades,
said KLCs President and CEO Tom Delacenserie. We know
Kentuckys most deserving students are counting on us, and our mission of
fueling imagination and funding education is more important than
ever.
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Close to 3000 Kentucky Lottery
retailers have shared in the $1.25 billion in profits. Lottery products not
only provide a source of income through commissions and bonuses, they also help
drive people into stores to buy tickets.
Retailers are proud to be a
vital partner in the success of the Kentucky Lottery over the past 30
years, said Tod Griffin, Kentucky Grocers & Convenience Store
Association (KGCSA) executive director. Lottery tickets continue to be
a value-added sales opportunity for thousands of retailers across the
Commonwealth.
For nearly two decades, Lottery
proceeds have been dedicated to college scholarship and grant programs.
Theyre administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance
Authority, or KHEAA.
Providing Kentucky families
with the necessary education and training to compete in
todays global economy is
the best investment the Commonwealth can make for the future, said
Gene Hutchins, KHEAA executive director. The Kentucky Lottery
continues to be a critical partner in providing the needed resources to fulfil
that commitment.
WHERES ALL THAT MONEY
GO, ANYWAY?
Everyone from retailers to elected
officials will tell you this is one of the questions they used to hear most
frequently from players. So of the more than $5.2 billion youve helped
earn for the Commonwealth since 1989, wheres it gone?
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT
PROGRAMS:
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The largest chunk of proceeds
around $3.4 billion have gone to fund programs to help Kentucky students
stay home to attend college. Lottery proceeds began shifting to college
scholarship and grant programs in 1999.
To put this in perspective, from
every dollar of non-loan college student financial aid awarded in Kentucky, 95
cents of it comes straight from Kentucky Lottery proceeds
These proceeds have funded every
dime of the popular KEES scholarship ever awarded. Our proceeds are also
dedicated to the need-based College Access Program and Kentucky Tuition Grants.
In addition, through executive order
of Governor Bevin, we also fund the Work Ready Scholarship Program. This
enables any Kentuckian to return to school to get a degree or certificate in a
high-demand field. Also funded is the Dual Credit Program, where high school
students complete college classes for credit before they graduate. In many
cases, students have already completed more than half their first semester of
college before they ever step foot on campus.
GENERAL FUND:
From 1989 through 1999, the General
Assembly sent lottery proceeds to the General Fund. This is the funding used to
run our state, and the largest single expenditure from the General Fund is for
primary and secondary education (K-12). A total of approximately $1.5 Billion
went to the General Fund over the years.
SEEK SCHOOL FUNDING:
For two of those years (1993-1994)
$214 million of this General Fund money went to the SEEK program. This stands
for Supporting Excellence in Education in Kentucky, and is a school funding
program established by KERA to provide money to support elementary and
secondary education in the state.
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT:
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From 2000 to 2018, the Collaborative
Center for Literacy Development at UK received the first $3 million each year
in lottery proceeds. A total of $54 million went to this program during that
timeframe. The program works to promote reading skills among both children and
adults across the Commonwealth.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST
FUND:
From 1999 to 2003, unclaimed lottery
prizes were directed to this program. The Affordable Housing Trust received $21
million in unclaimed prizes, used to help build nearly 2770 housing units for
low-income Kentuckians in all 120 counites.
VETERANS BONUSES:
For the Lotterys first three
years (1989 to 1991), the General Assembly used proceeds to fund $32 million in
recognition bonuses to Kentucky veterans of the Vietnam War.
SO WHY DONT MORE PEOPLE
KNOW ABOUT THIS?
According to Lottery research, about
60% of Kentuckians dont feel like they get enough information on where
our proceeds are spent. One of the main culprits for this is the fact that for
25 years it was literally against the law for us to publicize these
programs.
When the Lottery was established in
1989, there was a beneficiary advertising restriction in the state law which
laid out how the Kentucky Lottery was to be operated. It said that no programs
which benefitted from Kentucky Lottery proceeds could be mentioned in any
advertisement. Kentucky was the only state in America that had or ever has had
such a restriction. Finally, in the 2014 the restriction was overturned.
Shortly after that was when our Fueling Imagination, Funding
Education tagline was launched.
SOURCE: The Kentucky Lottery
Corporation.
Tony
Pittz Joins Idaho Lottery as Director of Lottery Security
BOISE, Idaho (April 4, 2019) -- The
Idaho Lottery announced that Tony Pittz has been appointed to the
Lotterys executive team as the new Director of Lottery Security.
He joins the Lottery after an
extensive and distinguished law enforcement career with Caldwell Police
Department and the Idaho Attorney Generals Office.
Pittz is an Idaho Peace Officer
Standards and Training Academy (POST) certified graduate with a background in
fraud investigation, cybersecurity, and white collar crime.
I am pleased to appoint
Tony Pittz to the management team of the Idaho Lottery, said Jeff
Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director.
Security and integrity are
at the heart of the Idaho Lotterys daily operation. Tony has been a
successful peace officer throughout his career and his wealth of experience and
expertise will help us to maintain excellence in the public confidence of our
games.
Pitzz accepted the position
following the retirement of Amber French, who had been with the Idaho Lottery
for twenty-two years.
Working as the
Director of Lottery Security allows me to utilize my years of experience to
manage my own law enforcement team, said Pittz, an Idaho
native.
We can offer the best
designed Scratch games and have the biggest jackpots, but maintaining public
accountability and integrity of our games is paramount to our
success.
Pittz joins a highly experienced
Idaho Lottery executive team that includes:
- Director Anderson (12 years with the Lottery),
- Chief Operating Officer - Becky Schroeder (27 years
with the Lottery),
- Deputy Director of Marketing Sherie
Moody-St. Clair (24 years with the Lottery), and
- Deputy Director of Sales Larry Polowski (3
years with the Lottery).
ABOUT THE IDAHO LOTTERY
The Idaho Lottery responsibly
provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions,
Scratch GamesTM, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the
dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund.
Since their inception in 1989, the
Idaho Lottery has sold nearly $3.7 billion in products, awarded over $2.2
billion in prizes to players, returned $216 million in retail commissions, and
distributed $846 million in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and the
Permanent Building Fund.
To learn more, please visit:
www.idaholottery.com.
CONTACT: David Workman, Idaho
Lottery Public Information Specialist, T: (208) 334-2600.
SOURCE: The Idaho Lottery.
Wisconsin Lottery Launches First New Lotto Game Since
2014
New All or Nothing Game
Debuted Sunday
MADISON, Wis. (April 5, 2019) -- The
Wisconsin Lottery makes history Sunday, April 7 when its new All or Nothing
Lotto game launches. The states fi rst Lotto game since 2014, All
or Nothing is a unique $2 daily game where players can win the $100,000
top prize by matching all 11 numbers or none of the 11 numbers.
We are very excited about
our launch of the new All or Nothing daily game, said Wisconsin
Lottery Director Cindy Polzin. There is always great anticipation for
a new game and since this particular play style is something that we have not
had before, it adds to the buzz around this launch.
Just as the game is titled, players
can win the $100,000 top prize by matching all 11 numbers or none of the 11
numbers. In total, there are eight ways to win a prize. Matching 10 numbers or
one number wins $500, matching nine or two numbers wins $40, and matching eight
or three numbers wins $4. No prizes are won for matching four, five, six, or
seven numbers.
HOW TO PLAY ALL OR NOTHING:
- Choose eleven diff erent numbers from 1 to 22.
- Place wagers by asking for a QUICK PICK or by using
the All or Nothing playslip. Playslips are available at Wisconsin Lottery
retailers.
- Choose how many draws to play. Each ticket costs $2
per play per draw. All or Nothing can be played up to 7 draws in advance.
- Check playslip carefully before handing it to the
retailer. ALL OR NOTHING TICKETS CANNOT BE CANCELLED.
- Give completed playslip and cash to the
retailer.
- Receive, sign, and safeguard ticket. A ticket is
needed to claim a prize. Playslips are not valid to claim a prize.

Drawings occur daily after 9 p.m.
Tickets must be purchased before 9 p.m. to be included in that days
drawing. Additional information about All or Nothing, including a how to
play video, can be found at wilottery.com/allornothing.
ABOUT THE WISCONSIN
LOTTERY
The Wisconsin Lottery enriches
communities statewide by giving back 93 percent of its revenue to winners,
retailers, and Wisconsin homeowners. Of each dollar spent on the Wisconsin
Lottery, 57 cents goes back to prizes, 30 cents to property tax credits, seven
cents to operations and six cents to retailers. Since 1988, the Wisconsin
Lottery generated:
- More than $14.5 billion in total revenue
- Over $8.2 billion in prizes paid
- More than $4.3 billion in funding for property tax
credits to eligible Wisconsin homeowners
For more about the Wisconsin
Lottery, visit wilottery.com. The Wisconsin Lottery is on social media via
Facebook and YouTube (/wilottery) and Twitter and Instagram (@wilottery).
SOURCE: Wisconsin Lottery
(wilottery.com).
Bidding for 7,000 New Lottery Agencies Can Be a Disaster for
Businessmen in the Sector: Febralot
BRAZIL (April 5, 2019) The
Brazilian Federation of the Loteric Companies (FEBRALOT) sent a letter to the
Federal Savings Bank at the end of March and at the beginning of April,
President of the Republic, Mr. Jair Messias Bolsonaro, condemning the possible
7,000 new bids of lottery units provided by the permit.
In the document in question, the
Federation emphasizes that, as provided for in item V, of article 3, Law No.
12,869 / 2013 and also in item 13.1 of Circular CAIXA 745/2017, a technical
feasibility study is required to shops are open and this has not been done or
has not been shown either to the Federation or the general population that they
should have known.
An example of what can happen can be
illustrated with the following case. An account of a Lottery entrepreneur from
Paraná says that in a town next to his (New Alliance of Ivaí) the
owner of a Lottery Unit closed the month with a maximum collection of R $
300.00 in games and as in the municipalities with few inhabitants to lottery
house is sometimes the only bank, the businessman cannot keep up his operation
with so little collection.
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It is worth mentioning that gross
collection in places such as these ranges from R $ 2000.00 to R $ 3000.00 per
month. Conclusion, the unit closed the doors for not being able to supply its
expenses and, few businessmen will risk trying to reopen this unit, which will
take of the population one of the few, perhaps the unique, bank position for
its payments of accounts.
The situation is critical and could
be even worse if more than 7,000 lottery houses are opened nationwide without
proper feasibility study. This study should, as required by Febralot, be
included in the descriptive body of the bids so that future candidates have a
real knowledge of the viability of the investment (high) that they think to
practice. This is not done and is a way to inform the inexperienced
entrepreneurs who want to work in the sector, that the risk is much greater
than it seems and depending on the locality the activity is already failed
before it even starts.
Today Lotérica Network is
composed of about 13,000 units that efficiently meet 100% of the population's
needs. There are more than 100 million people served and there is no need to
increase the number of units, especially considering that most of the current
entrepreneurs are already indebted.
Febralot requires that the current
stores be seen as priorities by Caixa's manager and not as a second option.
This pulverization of the activity will only increase in a predatory way the
competition, definitively condemning those entrepreneurs who miraculously still
support themselves. In addition, the manager presents a surplus of billions,
year after year in the presented balance sheets and with the biddings would
achieve a record turnover, however several businessmen who are already in the
activity are going through problems that for years do not remove them from the
bankrupt situation that are. It is necessary that the population and the
related organs are aware and support this cause.
What the Brazilian Federation of
Lottery Companies asks for is pure and simple compliance with the Law, which in
itself already eliminates the possibility of further this disaster for the
Category.
FEBRALOT Board of Directors
SOURCE: Brazilian Federation of the
Loteric Companies (FEBRALOT).
Arizona Lottery Wins AZIMA TIM Award for Holiday
Livestream
Honor Recognizes
Successful Digital Marketing Campaigns and Innovation
PHOENIX, Arizona (April 10, 2019)
The Arizona Innovation Marketing Association (AZIMA) celebrated the most
successful digital marketing campaigns and innovation in Arizona last week at
the 2019 TIM Awards and the Arizona Lottery was recognized for its unique use
of livestreaming.
AZIMA awarded the Windfall Willie
Virtual Holiday Party livestream with a TIM Mastery Award in the social
real-time engagement category. The Mastery Award is the highest recognition an
entry can receive.
We are proud to receive
this award for our digital innovation and creativity, said Executive
Director of the Arizona Lottery, Gregg Edgar.
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This was a fun and
challenging campaign to execute. Not only did we highlight our Holiday
Scratchers® tickets, we also raised awareness and money for Court Appointed
Special Advocates (CASA). We love thinking outside-the-box to do even more to
give back to our communities.
The Windfall Willie Virtual Holiday
Party livestream was an almost three-hour production that mimicked a late-night
talk show featuring guests from across the state, plus giveaways for viewers
every few minutes. The livestream included a one-of-a-kind set design, a
high-tech broadcasting platform, two state-of-the-art cameras, and a dedicated
crew.
The nearly three-hour live video
organically reached over 42,000 people, received over 68,000 engagements, and
over 15,000 unique viewers and the Arizona Lottery donated $25,000 to
its beneficiary Court Appointed Special Advocates, a program that gives a voice
to kids in foster care.
OH Partners is the Agency of Record
for the Arizona Lottery and concepted, directed and executed the recognized
work. To learn more about the Arizona Lottery, visit:
www.arizonalottery.com.
Scratchers® is a registered
service mark of the California Lottery.
About Arizona Lottery
Since 1981, the Arizona Lottery and
its retail partners have generated more than $4.1 billion in net funding in
support of programs that help to improve the quality of life for the people of
Arizona. Proceeds from Lottery ticket sales more than $4 million per
week fund programs in education, economic development, environmental
conservation and health and human services. The mission is to support Arizona
programs for the public benefit by maximizing net revenue in a responsible
manner. Learn more at ArizonaLottery.com
SOURCE: Arizona Lottery.
Veikkaus to Hold an Innovation Challenge Week to Find Startups
and Begin Collaboration Focus on eSports
HELSINKI, Finland (April 10, 2019)
-- At Veikkaus headquarters, May will mean focusing intensively on esports.
Veikkaus and Avanto Ventures are jointly organizing an Innovation Challenge
Week, during which 810 startup companies will explore what new esports
solutions they could generate in cooperation with Veikkaus.
The Challenge Week will be held at
Veikkaus head offices in Pohjois-Haaga, Helsinki from May 20-24. The Week
is essentially a competition aimed at identifying opportunities for
collaboration and shared growth opportunities between Veikkaus and startups.
The winner will receive a follow-up contract valued at 30,000 euros for further
development of the winning idea.
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We want to find the best ideas in
the world, as well as the best partners with whom to bring those ideas to life.
We believe that such a partner could well be found in the esports and startup
world. At the same time, we can offer startups an opportunity to bring their
ideas to market, states VP of Business Development and Innovation at Veikkaus,
Heidi Ioannidou.
Startups can apply to the Challenge
Week here. Both Finnish and international startups are welcome to apply.
The aim of the Challenge Week is not
to create actual games, but rather services or solutions related to
esports.
This could mean, for example, an
esports product, service, or platform. The goal is to produce innovative
solutions for esports players, teams, or fans, Ioannidou specifies.
The Veikkaus Innovation Challenge
Week will feature engaging speakers, and Veikkaus mentors will be available to
assist startups in their design processes. The Week will culminate in a
pitching event during which startups will be given two minutes in which to
present their ideas.
Esports to kick off series of
innovation weeks
The Innovation Challenge Week in May
will be the first in a serious of similar weeks which will focus on a variety
of subjects. The esports challenge will kick off this new approach.
Esports is immensely popular at the
moment. It is the fifth most popular game in pre-match betting and the fourth
most popular in live betting at Veikkaus, Ioannidou explains the choice of
focus.
As early as 2014, Veikkaus was one
of the first gaming companies to offer esports betting. Now the company is
looking to esports to learn new kinds of lessons.
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We believe that the world of
esports can generate ideas that Veikkaus can benefit from in its own business.
We want to learn from the world of players in order to be able to provide the
best possible gaming experiences, Ioannidou says.
Veikkaus is the largest gaming
sector employer in Finland, and wants to be a pioneer in the gaming sector. It
holds the exclusive right to organize gambling operations in Finland, but
competition in the digital world is international.
Veikkaus needs to develop its
operations, innovate new activities, and research and develop new
opportunities.
We want to be successful in an
ever-changing world. Our goal is to be an international pioneer in the gaming
sector, and for this reason we need to do something differently from everyone
else. We will venture into developing ideas that no-one else has yet developed,
Ioannidou envisions.
Veikkaus Innovation Challenge
Week
- Startups can apply to the Innovation Challenge Week
until April 23, 2019 here.
Selected
startups will be chosen by May 3, 2019.
- Veikkaus Innovation Challenge Week will be held at
Veikkaus head offices in Helsinki from May 2024, 2019.
- The winner of the Innovation Week will receive
30,000 euros for further development of the winning idea.
- Veikkaus specialists will work together with
startups during the Challenge Week.
Veikkaus and
esports
- Esports betting has been part of Veikkaus'
portfolio since 2014.
- Veikkaus was among the first five companies
worldwide to offer legal esports betting.
- In 2015, Veikkaus organized its own #oletvoittaja
StarCraft II tournament, which was won by Joona "Serral" Sotala.
- The first esports broadcast on VeikkausTV took
place on September 5, 2015, after which esports has continued to feature
regularly on the service.
- Veikkaus' esports betting selection consists of
fourteen games, the most popular of which is Counter-Strike: Global
Offensive.
- In 2018, Veikkaus offered over 13,000 esports
matches as betting options. Esports was the fifth most popular game in
pre-match betting and the fourth most popular in live betting.
For further information, please
CONTACT: Veikkaus' media service, tel. +358 9 4370 7000,
tiedotus@veikkaus.fi
About Veikkaus
Veikkaus is a Finnish gaming company
with a special mission. We want people to play our games safely and with
moderation. Almost all adult Finns play our games; we have over two million
loyal customers. Thanks to the players, over one billion euros a year are
accumulated for the common good. The gaming revenue is used to offer people
chances for better lives.
SOURCE: Veikkaus press release.
EGBA
Calls For Online Gambling Tax Review in Portugal to Improve Functioning of the
Market
Article by: Maarten Haijer,
Secretary General, European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (April 8, 2019) --
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has urged the Portuguese
gambling authorities to review the countrys tax rules for online gambling
to improve the functioning of its online market. This comes as Portuguese media
report that 75% of Portugals online gamblers are playing outside of
Portugals regulated online gambling market depriving the state of
valuable tax revenue from gambling and leaving Portugals online gamblers
unprotected by Portugals local consumer protection safeguards for online
gambling.
EGBA urges the authorities to apply
equal taxes across all online gambling products and based on gross
gaming revenue (GGR).
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This will ensure the regulated
Portuguese market becomes more attractive to players because a sensible
taxation level will lead to better priced betting odds and pull into the
regulated market more of the 75% of Portuguese players who are now playing on
websites not regulated in Portugal.
The current online gambling
law in Portugal rightly allows multiple online gambling operators to obtain a
license and provide their services to Portuguese citizens who wish to place a
bet online. In the online environment this is the best way to ensure that
Portuguese players can play on licensed and regulated gambling websites
and that is why 25 EU member states have now adopted this model.
However, the current Portuguese tax
regime for online gambling is discriminatory because it applies a more
favourable tax for some operators, whilst others have to pay a much higher tax
based on a broader tax base. As a result, applying for a Portuguese license is
much less attractive for online gambling companies based elsewhere in the EU:
for instance, only one EGBA member has a license in Portugal, while many more
are very interested to obtain a license there if the tax regime becomes
non-discriminatory and better suited to the online gambling environment.
If the tax rules do not change then
Portuguese consumers will continue to find more competitive gambling products
with websites which are not regulated and licensed in Portugal which do
not pay tax in Portugal and might expose Portuguese players to inadequate
consumer protection safeguards.
That is why, we encourage the
Portuguese authorities to tax all online gambling operators equally and on the
basis of the so-called gross gaming revenue, as is done in almost every other
EU country. This would encourage more companies to get a license for the
Portuguese market and increase the share of existing Portuguese players who are
playing within the regulated online gambling environment in Portugal.
By: Maarten Haijer, Secretary
General, European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA)
SOURCE: EGBA.
Kentucky Lottery Has Best Sales Month In
History
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (April 9, 2019)
-- In March 2019, the Kentucky Lottery posted its highest sales month in
history and broke another record that had stood for nearly three
decades.
March sales were $116.1 million.
This beat the previous record of $115.5 million set in October 2018 during a
Mega Millions run that for the first time in the games history saw a
jackpot in excess of $1 billion.
Leading the way for this massive
month was a marked increase in Scratch-off ticket sales. This category saw $70
million in sales, a full $9.7 million (16.1%) more than in March 2018.
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This also beat a record that had
stood for nearly 30 years previously the best Scratch-off ticket sales
month in Kentucky Lottery history had been the first month of sales in April
1989, which finished at $68.1 million.
Much of this is
attributable to the launch of our first $30 Scratch off ticket, said
Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Tom Delacenserie.
As we celebrated our 30th
anniversary, we wanted to do something big to mark the occasion. Launching this
new price point was a big hit with players with a first-time ever top prize of
$3 million, and they really responded.
March was also highlighted by a
Powerball jackpot run that reached as high as $768.4 million. This led to sales
of $12.3 million for the game, an increase of $5.3 million (73%) from the same
month in 2018.
Increased sales also meant increased
prizes. March 2019 finished the month with prize expenses of $76.1 million,
also a new record.
For More Information: Chip Polston,
Jennifer Cunningham, Sara Westerman, T: (502) 560-1675.
The Kentucky Lottery has earned over
$5.3 billion for the Commonwealth since 1989. KLC dividends pay for college
scholarships, grants and education programs.
Visit kheaa.com to find out more
about grants and scholarships paid for by the KLC.
SOURCE: Kentucky Lottery
Corporation.
UK to
Introduce World First Online Safety Laws
The Government today
unveiled tough new measures to ensure the UK is the safest place in the world
to be online.
- Independent regulator will be appointed
to enforce stringent new standards
- Social media firms must abide by
mandatory duty of care to protect users and could face heavy fines
if they fail to deliver
- Measures are the first of their kind in
the world in the fight to make the internet a safer place
UNITED KINGDOM (April 8, 2019) -- In
the first online safety laws of their kind, social media companies and tech
firms will be legally required to protect their users and face tough penalties
if they do not comply.
As part of the Online Harms White
Paper, a joint proposal from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and
Sport and Home Office, a new independent regulator will be introduced to ensure
companies meet their responsibilities.
This will include a mandatory
duty of care, which will require companies to take reasonable steps
to keep their users safe and tackle illegal and harmful activity on their
services.
The regulator will have effective
enforcement tools, and we are consulting on powers to issue substantial fines,
block access to sites and potentially to impose liability on individual members
of senior management.
A range of harms will be tackled as
part of the Online Harms White Paper, including inciting violence and violent
content, encouraging suicide, disinformation, cyber bullying and children
accessing inappropriate material.
There will be stringent requirements
for companies to take even tougher action to ensure they tackle terrorist and
child sexual exploitation and abuse content.
The new proposed laws will apply to
any company that allows users to share or discover user generated content or
interact with each other online. This means a wide range of companies of all
sizes are in scope, including social media platforms, file hosting sites,
public discussion forums, messaging services, and search engines.
A regulator will be appointed to
enforce the new framework. The Government is now consulting on whether the
regulator should be a new or existing body. The regulator will be funded by
industry in the medium term, and the Government is exploring options such as an
industry levy to put it on a sustainable footing.
A 12 week consultation on the
proposals has also been launched today. Once this concludes we will then set
out the action we will take in developing our final proposals for
legislation.
Tough new measures set out in the
White Paper include:
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- A new statutory duty of care to make
companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users and tackle
harm caused by content or activity on their services.
- Further stringent requirements on tech companies to
ensure child abuse and terrorist content is not disseminated online.
- Giving a regulator the power to force social media
platforms and others to publish annual transparency reports on the amount of
harmful content on their platforms and what they are doing to address
this.
- Making companies respond to users complaints,
and act to address them quickly.
- Codes of practice, issued by the regulator, which
could include measures such as requirements to minimise the spread of
misleading and harmful disinformation with dedicated fact checkers,
particularly during election periods.
- A new Safety by Design framework to
help companies incorporate online safety features in new apps and platforms
from the start.
- A media literacy strategy to equip people with the
knowledge to recognise and deal with a range of deceptive and malicious
behaviours online, including catfishing, grooming and extremism.
The UK remains committed to a free,
open and secure Internet. The regulator will have a legal duty to pay due
regard to innovation, and to protect users rights online, being
particularly mindful to not infringe privacy and freedom of expression.
Recognising that the Internet can be
a tremendous force for good, and that technology will be an integral part of
any solution, the new plans have been designed to promote a culture of
continuous improvement among companies. The new regime will ensure that online
firms are incentivised to develop and share new technological solutions, like
Googles Family Link and Apples Screen Time app, rather
than just complying with minimum requirements. Government has balanced the
clear need for tough regulation with its ambition for the UK to be the best
place in the world to start and grow a digital business, and the new regulatory
framework will provide strong protection for our citizens while driving
innovation by not placing an impossible burden on smaller companies.
SOURCE: Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport.
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