Tuesday News Released

State Expects €700 - €800 Million From the Sale of State Lotteries

ATHENS, Greece (December 9, 2012) – A concession to a private consortium for the operation of Greece’s state lotteries for the next 12 years is expected to fetch 700 to 800 million euros,the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED) says http://www.lotteryinsider.com/news/tues.htm

 

Playtech Names Ron Hoffmanas Group Finance Director

LONDON, UK (December 6, 2012) – Playtech (PTEC.L) said its Board of Directors have agreed to appoint Ron Hoffmanas as its Group Finance Director................

Governor, State Democrats At Odds Over Adding Games to Pennsylvania Lottery

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (December 8, 2012) -- Governor Tom Corbett’s spokesman disputes the claims of Democrats who say that adding games like KENO to the State Lottery’s line-up would require an act of the legislature..........................

Computerized Welfare Lottery Sales Hit CYN100 Billion

BEIJING, China (December 10, 2012) -- Annual sales of China's welfare lottery tickets distributed through computerized channels reached CYN100.1 billion yuan (US$15.9 billion) by December 8.............

 

Sierra Leone State Lottery Celebrates 50th Anniversary

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (December 10, 2012) -- Sierra Leone State Lottery Company (SLSLC), will today, Monday 10th December 2012, commemorate its 50th anniversary with outstanding service performances to the people of Sierra Leone. The company will use the event to thank President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone for being very supportive to them......................

Taiwan Lottery Company Launch NT$300 Scratch-Off Card

TEIPEI, Taiwan (December 10, 2012) -- Taiwan Lottery Co. Ltd. (TLC), a subsidiary of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. Ltd., recently launched a new scratch-off card priced at NT$300.....................

Possibility of Mississippi Lottery is Concern for Arkansas Lottery Officials

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (December 8, 2012) – Arkansas lottery officials are keeping a nervous eye on Mississippi as that state’s legislators prepare to consider creating a state lottery........................

Dutch Court Upholds Telecommunications Authority Fine on Lottery Companies

HOUTEN, The Netherlands (December 10, 2012) -- The Rotterdam District Court has upheld the fines to be paid by the BankGiro Lottery, the National Postcode Lottery and the Holding National Lotteries Charities for violating telemarketing rules...........................

Argentina's Lotteries to Consider Online Gambling Regulations

ARGENTINA (December 10, 2012) -- The trade body for Argentina's state lotteries, the Asociación de Loterías, Quinielas y Casinos Estatales (ALEA) has reportedly set up a research & advisory group to make recommendations regarding the regulation of online gambling in the South American nation...................

Study Estimates Legalized Gambling in Israel Would Net NIS 1.2 Billion in Tax Revenue

Study Claims Illegal Wagering On Sporting Events Significantly Harms Gamblers And Sports Associations, While Regulation Would Sting Criminal Organizations
TEL AVIV, Israel (December 10, 2012) -- Legalizing half of Israel's illicit gambling on sporting events would net the government NIS 1.2 billion in taxes,..................................

Federal Grand Jury Investigation of Lottery Procurement Process Widens

WASHINGTON D.C. (December 10, 2012) -- Federal investigators are reportedly probing whether aides to Ward 7 Councilwoman Yvette Alexander sought a bribe from prospective city contractors in exchange for her support on the District's lottery deal..........................

Retailers Express Concern At Online Lottery Plans

Potential changes to New Jersey's lottery system draw attention from retailers and unions
LEVITTOWN, Pennsylvania (December 10, 2012) -- Although Governor Christie’s administration has yet to announce its plans to change the marketing and sales functions of the New Jersey Lottery, the prospects of those changes have both retailers and unions concerned..................

UK Tax Cuts to Lure Online Gambling Operators Back to Britain?

LONDON, U.K. (December 10, 2012) -- Quoting unnamed sources that appear to include a senior government employee, The Mail on Sunday reported over the weekend that the British government’s Treasury department is “….set to hand the gambling industry a multi-million-pound tax cut as part of an incentive to bring the offshore internet gaming business back to Britain.”.................

Licenced Betting Operators "At Risk" From New Gaming Machine Duty, Says ABB

LONDON, U.K. (December 6, 2012) -- Bookmakers operating on low profit margins will be hit hard by the Machine Games Duty when it’s introduced on February 1, the chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers has warned.........................

Malta Vetoes EU Strategy to Combat the Manipulation of Sports Results

Island moves to protect its flourishing online gaming industry
MALTA (December 9, 2012) – Malta has used its veto to block an EU strategy aimed at introducing national measures to combat the manipulation of sports results..........................

Antigua Pursues Sanctions Sgainst US

ANTIQUA (December 9, 2012) – Antigua & Barbuda will pursue trade sanctions against the United States as a result of its online betting ban..........................

MLA Says Financial Support for Online Gaming Company is a Misuse of Entrepreneurs Assistance Fund

P.E.I, Canada (December 9, 2012) -- Virgin Gaming is Toronto-based online gaming company backed by Richard Branson's Virgin brand.
Giving support to a tech company, Virgin Gaming, through a program meant to help entrepreneurs is a misuse of the funds, according to Tignish-Palmer Road MLA Hal Perry....................

Lottery’s Twenty-Year-Old Holiday Ad Gets Makeover

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (December 8, 2012) -- A holiday TV tradition in Pennsylvania is changing this year...........................

MOBILE APPS ARE BETTER WITH ‘M®:

“M&M’S® BRAND CHOCOLATE FACTORY” IS COLORFUL FUN!
New App Starring the M&M’S® Characters Launches this Month on iTunes

ALPHARETTA, Georgia (December 11, 2012) -- Gamers and chocolate lovers alike will have colorful fun inside the “M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Factory,” a new gaming app launching this month on iTunes for $.99. Users help the adventurous M&M’S® Characters save M&M’S® Brand Candies from melting by utilizing different tools to divert the lentils from falling into hot milk chocolate. This engaging app was developed by Mars Retail Licensee Alchemy3 and is the first of its kind developed for the M&M’S brand.

The app “M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Factory” gives consumers an exciting, new way to connect with their favorite M&M’S® Characters. In the past, Mars Retail has offered a variety of family games that incorporate the M&M’S® Brand, from puzzles to checkers and YAHTZEE, so creating a gaming app was the next step forward. Consumers of all ages have been looking for an M&M’S® Brand app, and it is expected it will be a big hit............................

SIS and INTRALOT Launch Greyhound Service in Bulgaria

LONDON, U.K. (December 6, 2012) -- Satellite Information Services (SIS) are now being rolled out in Bulgaria. SIS, in partnership with leading international operator INTRALOT, will see its greyhound coverage being shown in approximately 700 shops in the country..........................

Poker Machine Spend Drops, Online Sports Betting on the Rise

•National Poker Machine Spend Dropped from $11.2 Billion to $10.2 Billion

•Online sports betting is the only form of gambling on the rise

•Sports bookies spend more on ads than major retailers

SYDNEY, Australia (December 11, 2012) -- Online news source reports that in the year to September 2012, consumers collectively spent a billion dollars less on poker machines than we did over the previous 12 month period.............................

Giant is Rapidly Emerging as One of the World's Biggest Poker Machine Operators

BRISBANE, Queensland (December 10, 2012) -- Better known for selling bread and milk, supermarket operator Woolworths is rapidly emerging as one of the world's biggest poker machine operators...........................................

 

New Video Games Have Tax Revenues Almost Back to Pre-Recession Levels

BOZEMAN, Montana (December 9, 2012) -- Almost a year after the first new form of video gambling in decades was legalized in Montana, state tax revenues are growing, and some are saying the industry is getting back on track.........................

 

Facebook, Twitter, ... the State Lotteries Discover The Social Networks

Initial findings of brand-new industry analysis

As social networks and media are currently the hot topics in the gambling industry, MECN takes a closer look at state lotteries and their successes and strategies in the social media world

LONDON / MUNICH (December 10, 2012) -- In the gambling industry social media and networks as well as social gaming/gambling seem to be everywhere. No conference is without social media evangelists, no industry magazine without social gaming specials, ... Therefore it's time for an objective analysis of the relevance of social media/networks and their impact on state lotteries.

Actually, the Facebook pages of state lotteries are already very much old hat. Many lotteries began offering their products on Facebook as far back as 2008. Still, other lotteries are only just beginning to discover social networks as a relevant marketing channel, and several lotteries are joining the trend in 2012. On “average”, state lotteries joined Facebook in summer 2010.

On the whole, 51% of the state lotteries operate an official Facebook page

In total, MECN analysed nearly 160 state lotteries and their official Facebook, Twitter, and/or YouTube pages. Some results were impressive, some astonishing...................

 

MECN Special Report - http://www.lotteryinsider.com/news/tues.htm

 

 

Amendments to the Law on Games of Chance Could See Macedonians Playing Lottery Games Online

International Tender to be Announced After the Law Amendments are Passed

SKOPJE, Macedonia (December 8, 2012) – As of next year, citizens will play Internet games of chance organized by a national entity...........................

 

 

House Bill Would Essentially Kill Storefront Sweepstakes Operations

CLEVELAND, Ohio (December 10, 2012) – Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and others have deemed so called internet cafes,' as providing computers that function like slot machines offering illegal games of chance..............................

 

 

Hong Kong Casino Operator in Back Door Listing

MANILA, Philippines (December 10, 2012) -- Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., listed in Hong Kong and partner of Belle Corp. in building a gaming complex in Pagcor City ., is buying 93 percent Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp............................

 

 

Betfair Expected to Post Lower First-Half Profits

LONDON, UK (December 9, 2012) – Online sports betting giant Betfair is set to report that its first-half profits have fallen 22 per cent according to City analysts’ consensus forecasts.......................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the stories are available at:

 

http://www.lotteryinsider.com/news/tues.htm

 

 

or our mobile site: http://www.lotteryinsider.com/news/mobile_version/index.htm

 

 

I will post on our BLOG throughout the day and night as anything interesting hits my news desk so check back often to be kept in the loop of what is currently happening

 

Cheers

 

Trace