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Playing Lottery in Eastern Europe - European Lotteries

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EUROPEAN STATE LOTTERIES AND TOTO ASSOCIATION<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

No 30 April 2009


The Executive Committee of<br />

the <strong>Europe</strong>an State <strong>Lotteries</strong><br />

and Toto Association<br />

PRESIDENT<br />

Dr. W<strong>in</strong>fried WORTMANN, Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director<br />

WESTDEUTSCHE LOTTERIE GmbH & Co. OHG, Germany<br />

1ST VICE-PRESIDENT<br />

Mr. Christophe BLANCHARD-DIGNAC,<br />

President – General Director<br />

LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX, France<br />

2ND VICE-PRESIDENT<br />

Mr Jussi ISOTALO, Deputy Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director<br />

VEIKKAUS OY, F<strong>in</strong>land<br />

MEMBERS<br />

Prof Vesna BAKRAN, General Manager<br />

HRVATSKA LUTRIJA d.o.o., Croatia<br />

Mr. Gonzalo FERNÁNDEZ RODRÍGUEZ, General Director<br />

LOTERÍAS Y APUESTAS DEL ESTADO, Spa<strong>in</strong><br />

JUDr. Ales HUSAK, Chairman of the Board of Directors<br />

and General Director<br />

SAZKA a.s., Czech Republic<br />

Mr Léon LOSCH, Director<br />

LOTERIE NATIONALE, Luxembourg<br />

Dipl. Ing. Friedrich STICKLER, Deputy General Director<br />

österreichische Lotterien, Austria<br />

Ms Dianne THOMPSON, Chief Executive<br />

The National <strong>Lottery</strong> CAMELOT, United K<strong>in</strong>gdom<br />

Mr Tjeerd VEENSTRA, Director<br />

De Lotto, Netherlands<br />

Contents<br />

1. Message from the President<br />

3. Editorial<br />

4. <strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

19. Philippe Vlaemm<strong>in</strong>ck EL Legal Adviser<br />

21. Camelot<br />

24. Members’ News<br />

27. Premium Partners<br />

31. Workshops<br />

General Secretariat<br />

Bernadette Lobjois<br />

Secretary General<br />

Av. de Béthusy 36<br />

CH-1005 LAUSANNE<br />

Tel. +41 21 311 30 25<br />

Fax +41 21 312 30 11<br />

<strong>in</strong>ternet: http://www.european-lotteries.org<br />

E-mail. <strong>in</strong>fo@european-lotteries.org<br />

MAY<br />

Jo<strong>in</strong>t EL/WLA Sports Bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

Dates: 06-08 May 2009<br />

Location:<br />

Munich / Germany<br />

Host: Staatliche Lotterie-<br />

Verwaltung <strong>in</strong> Bayern<br />

Jo<strong>in</strong>t EL/WLA Sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

on Interactive Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and New Media<br />

Dates: 25-28 May 2009<br />

Location: Hamar / Norway<br />

Host: Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g AS<br />

JUNE<br />

EL Congress<br />

Dates: 08-11 June 2009<br />

Location: Istanbul / Turkey<br />

Followed by:<br />

EL General Assembly<br />

Date: 11 June 2009 afternoon<br />

Jo<strong>in</strong>t EL/WLA Security<br />

Sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

Dates: 23-25 June 2009<br />

Location:<br />

Budapest / Hungary<br />

Host: Szerencsejatek Zrt<br />

SEPTEMBER<br />

<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> University»<br />

Dates:<br />

30 August-04 September 2009<br />

Location: Malta<br />

Host: Maltco <strong>Lotteries</strong> Ltd<br />

<br />

Dates: 28-30 September 2009<br />

Location: Barcelona / Spa<strong>in</strong><br />

Host: Loteria de Catalunya<br />

OCTOBER<br />

<br />

Dates: 12-14 October 2009<br />

Location: Lisbon / Portugal<br />

Host: Santa Casa da Misericordia de<br />

Lisboa<br />

Registration for all our sem<strong>in</strong>ars<br />

can be done onl<strong>in</strong>e at<br />

http://www.european-lotteries.org<br />

All events are available on our website (under events)<br />

Announcements are made a few months <strong>in</strong> advance<br />

Hosted by<br />

Sem<strong>in</strong>ar hosted by<br />

NORSK TIPPING<br />

Hosted by<br />

Staatliche Lotterieverwaltung <strong>in</strong> Bayern<br />

Interactive Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

6 - 8 May 2009<br />

Munich / Germany<br />

Aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />

Sports Bett<strong>in</strong>g Sem<strong>in</strong>arall<br />

odds<br />

Prepar<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

Future<br />

May 25 - 28 ,2009<br />

Hamar / Norway<br />

<strong>Lotteries</strong><br />

<strong>in</strong><br />

Cyberspace<br />

23 - 25 June, 2009<br />

Budapest / Hungary<br />

Security Sem<strong>in</strong>ar Where<br />

Creativity<br />

meets Security<br />

THE MATERIAL, VIEWS, OPINIONS AND COMMENTS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHORS, THE SPEAKERS AND THE PANELISTS ARE THEIR<br />

OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE POSITION OF PANORAMA OR EL ASSOCIATION. PANORAMA ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY<br />

FOR THE ACCURACY OF STATEMENTS MADE BY ADVERTISERS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRO-<br />

DUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM EL GENERAL SECRETARIAT.


Message from the President<br />

Ladies and Gentlemen,<br />

Dear friends,<br />

With its decision of 10 March, 2009, the<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament has set an important<br />

signal that corresponds to our basic<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. It shows that we are not alone<br />

and that it is not only the governments of<br />

the Member States that give us guidance<br />

on responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g. By vot<strong>in</strong>g with<br />

544 votes <strong>in</strong> favour and only 36 aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />

the resolution on onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g, the<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament has taken a very<br />

clear stance.. This is all the more remarkable<br />

as onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g is a very complex<br />

and difficult subject. The rapporteur and<br />

the IMCO committee haven taken the<br />

time to carefully exam<strong>in</strong>e the subject and<br />

give clear recommendations.<br />

Gambl<strong>in</strong>g falls with<strong>in</strong> the scope of the EU<br />

Treaty. But it is a very sensitive service<br />

that cannot be compared to other areas;<br />

a mere self-regulation <strong>in</strong> this area cannot<br />

be sufficient. It is also very important to<br />

note that the Parliament considers that<br />

the national legislation <strong>in</strong> the respective<br />

Member State is responsible for the gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

sector. The subsidiarity pr<strong>in</strong>ciple<br />

has to be applied. For this reason, the<br />

Member States have the right, but also<br />

the obligation to regulate the gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

sector with their means – as far as they<br />

can. And as the past has shown, they can.<br />

Areas like <strong>in</strong>ternet gambl<strong>in</strong>g and cross<br />

border activities (cross border bett<strong>in</strong>g)<br />

however also show that the current models<br />

have to be further developed. To this<br />

end, political solutions are needed. It is<br />

not satisfactory to wait for decisions by<br />

the <strong>Europe</strong>an Court of Justice. Certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />

the <strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament emphasizes as<br />

well that the national levies on gambl<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

our contribution to the public welfare,<br />

1<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

are constitutive and justified. It is remarkable<br />

how clearly the Parliament has<br />

expressed that these resources should<br />

not go to private pockets.<br />

We will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to support the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

Parliament and its committees <strong>in</strong> the<br />

development of susta<strong>in</strong>able solutions for<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>. The 10 th of March<br />

also proved how important and right it<br />

has been and still is to focus our strategic<br />

work on Brussels.<br />

With<strong>in</strong> our <strong>Europe</strong>an Association of<br />

State <strong>Lotteries</strong> and Toto organisations,<br />

everyth<strong>in</strong>g is now stepp<strong>in</strong>g up to the big<br />

congress <strong>in</strong> Istanbul <strong>in</strong> June. We have<br />

prepared an ambitious programme that<br />

reflects the broad ranger of topics we are<br />

currently work<strong>in</strong>g on. In the General Assembly,<br />

we will determ<strong>in</strong>e the guidel<strong>in</strong>es<br />

for the strategic work <strong>in</strong> the future. We<br />

will elect a new team to master these activities.<br />

I would like to thank, also on behalf<br />

of the General Secretary and the Executive<br />

Committee, our host, the Turkish<br />

National <strong>Lottery</strong> Milli Piyango, for the<br />

k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong>vitation that it has extended to all<br />

of us.<br />

I am look<strong>in</strong>g forward to the discussions<br />

with you <strong>in</strong> Istanbul.<br />

Yours<br />

W<strong>in</strong>fried Wortmann<br />

President


EL Premium Partner<br />

Glimps<strong>in</strong>g the Future of Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

The matur<strong>in</strong>g core player. The younger emerg<strong>in</strong>g consumer.<br />

Attract<strong>in</strong>g both requires products that cont<strong>in</strong>ue to maximize lottery sales of traditional retailers as<br />

well as solutions that leverage new sales channels, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g fresh, excit<strong>in</strong>g game concepts for the<br />

Internet and mobile phones.<br />

That’s the future. That’s the challenge. That’s our focus.<br />

Scientific Games delivers on its commitment to be a good<br />

neighbor and good global citizen and, as such, is committed to<br />

socially responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g and susta<strong>in</strong>able bus<strong>in</strong>ess practices.<br />

2 AN RAMA<br />

©2008 Scientific Games<br />

P


Editorial<br />

Two decades later…<br />

This Panorama is dedicated to the <strong>Lotteries</strong><br />

from <strong>Eastern</strong> and Central <strong>Europe</strong>.<br />

Some of these organizations are Members<br />

of the <strong>Europe</strong>an State <strong>Lotteries</strong> and Toto<br />

Association (formerly AELLE) for almost<br />

20 years, and most have applied s<strong>in</strong>ce 1995.<br />

The first <strong>Lottery</strong> to have jo<strong>in</strong>ed our Association<br />

<strong>in</strong> early 1991 was the <strong>Lottery</strong> of<br />

the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia<br />

which <strong>in</strong>cluded the Czech Republic<br />

and Slovakia). This country, that jo<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

the EU <strong>in</strong> May 2004, currently assures<br />

the EU Presidency. Other <strong>Lotteries</strong> also<br />

followed <strong>in</strong> 1991, such as the Romanian<br />

and Hungarian <strong>Lotteries</strong>.<br />

Furthermore, <strong>in</strong> November 1993, we organized<br />

the first conference for the countries<br />

of <strong>Eastern</strong> and Central <strong>Europe</strong>. This<br />

event took place <strong>in</strong> the city of Cracow <strong>in</strong><br />

Poland. Other meet<strong>in</strong>gs followed on an annual<br />

basis until 2001. Then, the meet<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

were not organized anymore due to the<br />

fact that the <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>Lotteries</strong> <strong>in</strong> this part<br />

of <strong>Europe</strong> reached a high technological<br />

level and set up modern sales networks.<br />

3<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

When some of these countries wanted to<br />

jo<strong>in</strong> the <strong>Europe</strong>an Community, our Association<br />

fulfilled its role by <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Lotteries</strong><br />

of these countries <strong>in</strong> round tables to <strong>in</strong>form<br />

them on EU law and the various challenges<br />

they will have to face. Our Legal Advisors<br />

provided them with some concrete examples<br />

and answered all their questions.<br />

Subsequently, some countries made the<br />

step forward and entered the Euro zone.<br />

An <strong>in</strong>formation meet<strong>in</strong>g was consequently<br />

held <strong>in</strong> Paris, dur<strong>in</strong>g which different Member<br />

<strong>Lotteries</strong> of the Euro zone presented<br />

the requirements and practical examples.<br />

All our Members can count on EL’s support.<br />

Indeed, the Association has always<br />

been there, throughout the years and has<br />

even anticipated some situations.<br />

Today, there is no need to meet our Members<br />

for the above-mentioned specificities<br />

anymore. Nevertheless, they cont<strong>in</strong>ue to<br />

regularly participate <strong>in</strong> our sem<strong>in</strong>ars, conferences<br />

and other meet<strong>in</strong>gs organized<br />

throughout the year, with<strong>in</strong> a quite unique<br />

family : the <strong>Europe</strong>an <strong>Lotteries</strong>.<br />

EL activities’ landscape for the com<strong>in</strong>g months:<br />

The sem<strong>in</strong>ars on sports bett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Munich, on <strong>in</strong>teractive games <strong>in</strong> Hamar, and on security<br />

<strong>in</strong> Budapest are <strong>in</strong> progress. The related <strong>in</strong>formation is available <strong>in</strong> our website.<br />

The most important event rema<strong>in</strong>s our Congress <strong>in</strong> Istanbul with our General Assembly<br />

which will close this major event. Mr. Biçer, CEO of Milly Piyango, the Turkish<br />

National <strong>Lottery</strong> Adm<strong>in</strong>istration – and his whole team look forward to welcom<strong>in</strong>g you<br />

to this magnificent city of Istanbul, where an enrich<strong>in</strong>g program awaits you. All <strong>in</strong>formation<br />

are available <strong>in</strong> the Congress website : www.el2009.org<br />

Then, <strong>in</strong> September, we will have our usual rendez-vous : ELU – <strong>Europe</strong>an <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

University, which will take place on the very beautiful island of Malta.<br />

We hope to see many of you <strong>in</strong> Istanbul to celebrate together the fifth Congress of<br />

our Association.<br />

Istanbul’da görümek üzere… (see you soon <strong>in</strong> Istanbul)<br />

Bernadette Lobjois<br />

Secretary General


Most of our Members <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> and<br />

Central <strong>Europe</strong> have experienced an <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

history. Their <strong>Lotteries</strong> have<br />

sometimes followed a similar path but as<br />

the countries have become <strong>in</strong>dependent,<br />

they have focused on their own identities<br />

– a trait that is obvious <strong>in</strong> their games offer<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

They are now mak<strong>in</strong>g history with<br />

a new approach and a new vision for their<br />

State <strong>Lotteries</strong>.<br />

We have asked our <strong>Eastern</strong> and Central<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an Members to give us an overview<br />

of their experiences and the evolution<br />

of games <strong>in</strong> their respective countries.<br />

One ma<strong>in</strong> feature that seems to<br />

appear <strong>in</strong> each of these countries is their<br />

advanced level of technology and the futuristic<br />

games already <strong>in</strong> place. These<br />

countries might belong to “Old <strong>Europe</strong>”<br />

4<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

OLD WORLD - NEW WORLD OF LOTTERIES<br />

but they are def<strong>in</strong>itely <strong>in</strong> sync with 21st<br />

century mentality: Onl<strong>in</strong>e games and wager<strong>in</strong>g<br />

systems, Internet and mobile gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

process<strong>in</strong>g, strong focus on bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />

transparency and adoption of strict social<br />

responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. They<br />

are do<strong>in</strong>g well <strong>in</strong> terms of pleas<strong>in</strong>g their<br />

customers; they are do<strong>in</strong>g even better at<br />

support<strong>in</strong>g good causes, social and other<br />

government-sponsored programs and<br />

their community by strengthen<strong>in</strong>g their<br />

image and present<strong>in</strong>g an attractive, modern<br />

and clearly transparent gam<strong>in</strong>g environment<br />

very well <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e with the rest of<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>.<br />

Take a look at the follow<strong>in</strong>g presentations<br />

sent by our colleagues from <strong>Eastern</strong><br />

and Central <strong>Europe</strong>, and see how they<br />

have overcome major difficulties caused<br />

by a tumultuous history and how they<br />

have found the high road to success. Still<br />

many challenges lay ahead, due to market<br />

penetration by unlicensed offshore<br />

game operators, liberalization of crossborder<br />

games and the difficult task to<br />

conv<strong>in</strong>ce their own governments of the<br />

urgency to set up str<strong>in</strong>gent gam<strong>in</strong>g laws<br />

to better protect the players.


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Alexander Zibrov<br />

General Director<br />

Russia<br />

“Interlot” Jsc., founded <strong>in</strong> 1996, is the<br />

largest Russian operator responsible for<br />

organiz<strong>in</strong>g and manag<strong>in</strong>g lotteries. S<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

1997, Interlot has been conduct<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

“Golden Key” Hous<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Lottery</strong>, the only<br />

one of its k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> Russia, throughout the<br />

country. The unique target<strong>in</strong>g of this <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

is based on the fact that a new apartment<br />

(value at about two millions roubles)<br />

is available <strong>in</strong> every weekly draw<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

“Golden Key” is a passive lottery based<br />

on a 30/90 scheme. Even the structure<br />

of the prize funds of the <strong>Lottery</strong> is aimed<br />

at provid<strong>in</strong>g the population with proper<br />

social security as far as residential facilities<br />

throughout the country. Besides this,<br />

accord<strong>in</strong>g to Russian legislation, part of<br />

our annual revenue goes to f<strong>in</strong>ance social<br />

programmes.<br />

Our games<br />

Interlot is a leader <strong>in</strong> Russia among TV<br />

lotteries (with an earn<strong>in</strong>g share of 48 %<br />

for 2008). The number of TV projects<br />

has grown to three. One of them is a Card<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> with a w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g formula of 5 plus<br />

1 out of 36 numbers with a comb<strong>in</strong>ation<br />

pre-pr<strong>in</strong>ted on the lottery ticket. The<br />

other is a number <strong>Lottery</strong> with a formula<br />

of 9 numbers out of 30. In 2007, Interlot<br />

launched a momentary lottery, six<br />

projects based on the umbrella pr<strong>in</strong>ciple.<br />

The most popular and successful project<br />

is ”Golden Key”. More than 700 apartments<br />

have been raffled off over the past<br />

10 years. This <strong>Lottery</strong> is a lead<strong>in</strong>g game<br />

not only among Interlot portfolio, but also<br />

at national level. The ticket price for TV<br />

lotteries is 50 roubles, for <strong>in</strong>stant lotteries:<br />

10 roubles.<br />

<br />

Although market<strong>in</strong>g researches with a<br />

The <strong>Lottery</strong> market <strong>in</strong> Russia<br />

target audience to evaluate players’ preferences<br />

are not held regularly <strong>in</strong> Russia,<br />

Interlot has researched at different times<br />

the market to streaml<strong>in</strong>e its market<strong>in</strong>g<br />

strategy. Social and demographic profile<br />

of TV lottery players, highlighted by market<br />

research, almost completely mirrored<br />

the social and demographic features of<br />

the population of Russia. There were not<br />

considerable differences <strong>in</strong> geographical<br />

areas for most player groups.<br />

5<br />

<br />

players<br />

<br />

Our legislation<br />

In accordance with our gam<strong>in</strong>g law, there<br />

are established pr<strong>in</strong>ciples controll<strong>in</strong>g relations<br />

between <strong>Lottery</strong> companies and<br />

the State <strong>in</strong> Russia s<strong>in</strong>ce 2005. Live lotteries<br />

can be run by a state. A state prognostic<br />

game was started last year, us<strong>in</strong>g<br />

lottery term<strong>in</strong>als to sell tickets. There are<br />

some legislative restrictions for commercial<br />

companies that have to go through<br />

a complex legal licens<strong>in</strong>g process before<br />

launch<strong>in</strong>g mobile lotteries.<br />

The legal process of licens<strong>in</strong>g Internet<br />

and mobile lotteries is no different<br />

from the process of licens<strong>in</strong>g traditional<br />

games. A federal authority issues the license<br />

but only to Russian applicants. In<br />

the Russian Federation such an authority<br />

is the Federal Treasury Department.<br />

To get a license to run a lottery on the<br />

territory of the Russian Federation, the<br />

applicant must submit all documents<br />

required by federal gam<strong>in</strong>g law. With<strong>in</strong><br />

P AN RAMA<br />

two months, the applicant is issued either<br />

a license for the term not exceed<strong>in</strong>g<br />

5 years or a reasonable refusal to get the<br />

license. A decision of reasonable refusal<br />

is made based on the law’s stipulations.<br />

Applicant may appeal the decision <strong>in</strong> the<br />

order prescribed by the legislation of the<br />

Russian Federation.<br />

Gam<strong>in</strong>g environment <strong>in</strong> Russia<br />

While official Russian operators have difficulties<br />

gett<strong>in</strong>g licensed to operate lottery<br />

games on Internet and mobile phones,<br />

there is a great deal of foreign operators<br />

sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> our country without a Russian<br />

license via Internet-based offshore operations.<br />

To ensure the security of our gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

offer<strong>in</strong>g, Interlot has addressed a proposal<br />

to the appropriate authorities of the Russian<br />

Federation to research the activities<br />

of such illegal gambl<strong>in</strong>g sites <strong>in</strong> Russian<br />

Web space. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to public <strong>in</strong>formation,<br />

as of the end of 2007, Russian Internet<br />

counted 6 894 gambl<strong>in</strong>g sites. The<br />

number of visitors to those sites is stagger<strong>in</strong>g:<br />

For example, one of Internet-cas<strong>in</strong>o<br />

gets hit 108 148 per month.<br />

Most of the sites have no authorization for<br />

runn<strong>in</strong>g games and any lotteries <strong>in</strong> Russia.<br />

The Federal Service of F<strong>in</strong>ancial Monitor<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of Russia expressed concern on<br />

the issue of monitor<strong>in</strong>g crim<strong>in</strong>al activities<br />

through gambl<strong>in</strong>g sites. As of today, there<br />

are no legislative measures, nor f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />

sanctions to restrict the <strong>in</strong>vasion of foreign<br />

operators <strong>in</strong> Russian Internet space.<br />

It creates more difficulties for national<br />

operators to promote their lottery games<br />

on the Web.<br />

<br />

However, Interlot is actively look<strong>in</strong>g at<br />

launch<strong>in</strong>g new lottery games on the Internet<br />

and on mobile phones. Now it has developed<br />

a range of <strong>in</strong>teractive prognostic<br />

games adapted to the Russian mentality.<br />

They are officially registered. At the same<br />

time Interlot is look<strong>in</strong>g for new technologies<br />

to make traditional lotteries more accessible<br />

all over the country. We already<br />

use term<strong>in</strong>als to accept payment for the<br />

sale of pre-pr<strong>in</strong>ted lottery tickets. We upgraded<br />

our own site to accept sales of passive<br />

lotteries on the Web and developed<br />

active games with a range of comb<strong>in</strong>ations.<br />

In summary, it should also be stated<br />

that now Interlot has moved <strong>in</strong>to a stage of<br />

<strong>in</strong>tensive and extensive development.


Bosnia and Herzegov<strong>in</strong>a<br />

The basic activity of the <strong>Lottery</strong> of Bosnia<br />

and Herzegov<strong>in</strong>a (BiH) is to manage<br />

games of chance and fun games all over<br />

the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegov<strong>in</strong>a.<br />

In 1973, the Assembly of Bosnia and<br />

Herzegov<strong>in</strong>a established an <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> organization called “Lutrija<br />

BiH” which until then had been operat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce 1951 under a Yugoslav <strong>Lottery</strong> system.<br />

Consequently, pursuant to the Law<br />

on Games of Chance, the Government of<br />

the Federation of BiH is a sole owner and<br />

founder of the <strong>Lottery</strong> of BiH. Our <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

organization is a Member of the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

State <strong>Lotteries</strong> “EL”.<br />

The BiH <strong>Lottery</strong> operates under the control<br />

of a Board of Directors. The President<br />

of the Board is Zdravko Rajic. Muris Aganagic,<br />

General Manager, is the head of the<br />

BiH <strong>Lottery</strong>. Game development cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />

until 1992, but then the political situation<br />

brought any new development <strong>in</strong> lottery<br />

games to an end. In 1996, there was<br />

a renewed <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> games of chance.<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce then, we have re-established our<br />

retail network, supported by our own <strong>in</strong>vestments<br />

and without any donations or<br />

assistance from third parties. In an effort<br />

to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> our lead<strong>in</strong>g role <strong>in</strong> organiz<strong>in</strong>g<br />

games of chance, we are cont<strong>in</strong>ually<br />

monitor<strong>in</strong>g any development <strong>in</strong> modern<br />

technology, as well as the latest trends <strong>in</strong><br />

this field.<br />

The BiH <strong>Lottery</strong> complies with the standards<br />

for responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g activities and<br />

it has implemented a new technology to<br />

improve its payment process and fulfil its<br />

obligations towards the players. Currently,<br />

we are provid<strong>in</strong>g service to 350 po<strong>in</strong>ts<br />

of sales all over the Federation, a country<br />

with 2 million <strong>in</strong>habitants. In order to<br />

make our games more accessible and offer<br />

a more efficient purchase and payment<br />

process, we are plann<strong>in</strong>g to expand and<br />

adapt our current retail network.<br />

The BiH <strong>Lottery</strong> has a strong presence<br />

on the national market thanks to its wide<br />

range of games that are constantly reviewed<br />

and ref<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> order to meet the<br />

expectations and needs of our players.<br />

The games assortment consists of special<br />

and classic games.<br />

6<br />

LUTRIJA BIH: A LOTTERY WITH A HEART<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

With the aim of organiz<strong>in</strong>g modern, attractive<br />

and diverse games of chance, special<br />

attention has been given to the jo<strong>in</strong>t-venture<br />

project done <strong>in</strong> cooperation with the<br />

Austrian Gam<strong>in</strong>g Industries that allowed<br />

the implementation of slot mach<strong>in</strong>es.<br />

There are currently 40 gam<strong>in</strong>g clubs <strong>in</strong><br />

the country. 1000 slot mach<strong>in</strong>es have been<br />

<strong>in</strong>stalled throughout these clubs where a<br />

very attractive jackpot is be<strong>in</strong>g offered.<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

chance <strong>in</strong> our country). The price of a<br />

b<strong>in</strong>go ticket is 1, 50 KM for the regular<br />

draws and 2 KM for extraord<strong>in</strong>ary draws.<br />

Instant Tickets with merchandise and cash<br />

prizes (Horoscope, Prati srecu /Follow your<br />

luck, Express lottery, B<strong>in</strong>go and Audi TT)<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

The Audi TT ticket is particularly popular<br />

among our players. There are 2 games<br />

on one ticket. By scratch<strong>in</strong>g one of two<br />

specifically <strong>in</strong>dicated fields, one may w<strong>in</strong><br />

valuable cash prize, while by scratch<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the other <strong>in</strong>dicated field, i.e. the car registration<br />

plate, one may w<strong>in</strong> 1 of 10 Audi<br />

TT cars. The price of this ticket is 2 KM,<br />

while all other tickets cost 1 KM and for the<br />

replacement of a ticket, an additional payment<br />

is required.<br />

Audi TT ticket<br />

<br />

The BiH <strong>Lottery</strong> is an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g employer,<br />

offer<strong>in</strong>g its employees a possibility of<br />

constant professional advancement, cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />

improvement of work<strong>in</strong>g conditions<br />

and career promotion. A motivat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

work<strong>in</strong>g environment is created through<br />

an appropriate award system. In all aspects<br />

of our bus<strong>in</strong>ess, we have proved that<br />

we really work <strong>in</strong> accordance with the slogan:<br />

« The BiH <strong>Lottery</strong> has a heart».<br />

Change : 1 BAM/MK = Eur 0.51


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Bulgaria<br />

Eurofootball was founded <strong>in</strong> 1990 and offered<br />

its first nationwide game <strong>in</strong> 1993.<br />

The company is the first licensed sports<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g operator <strong>in</strong> Bulgaria, supported<br />

by our shareholders, BILOT EOOD and<br />

EUROSADRUZHIE OOD. On the <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />

front, Eurofootball is a Member of<br />

the World <strong>Lottery</strong> Association, the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

States <strong>Lotteries</strong> and Toto Association<br />

and EFP.<br />

Our company has adopted a policy of<br />

corporate social responsibility practices<br />

and, as a consequence a variety of <strong>in</strong>stitutions<br />

benefit from our social <strong>in</strong>volvement:<br />

The arts, sports organizations and<br />

charity events promoted throughout the<br />

entire territory of Bulgaria. In 2007, Eurofootball<br />

received the top award <strong>in</strong> the<br />

Annual Rank<strong>in</strong>g Contest of the newspaper<br />

Pari for “Top 100 Biggest Companies<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Service Sector“.<br />

Our games<br />

In August 2003, Eurofootball <strong>in</strong>troduced<br />

for the first time an on-l<strong>in</strong>e system based<br />

on the IT <strong>in</strong>frastructure provided by<br />

INTRALOT. With this system, Eurofootball<br />

offers more than 20.000 bett<strong>in</strong>g options<br />

<strong>in</strong> two weekly draws, cover<strong>in</strong>g more<br />

than 20 types of sports, not count<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

Olympics. Our ma<strong>in</strong> products are:<br />

Football & Sports bett<strong>in</strong>g program – a<br />

comb<strong>in</strong>ation of up to 3.000 bett<strong>in</strong>g events<br />

is offered (full-time, half time, double<br />

chance, even/odd, under/over, correct<br />

score, goal/no goal, etc.) twice per week.<br />

Super Jackpot – a very popular game<br />

with 3 Jackpots, cover<strong>in</strong>g 10 to 14 football<br />

matches per draw.<br />

Live Bett<strong>in</strong>g - Super chance – this programme<br />

offers up to 9.999 bett<strong>in</strong>g options,<br />

Live Bett<strong>in</strong>g on more than 5 matches<br />

per day and long term bett<strong>in</strong>g events.<br />

Handicap – over 100 matches are offered<br />

with this bett<strong>in</strong>g option <strong>in</strong> the Super<br />

chance programme<br />

Basketball – this programme was<br />

launched <strong>in</strong> November 2004 and <strong>in</strong>cludes<br />

81 matches.<br />

Our retail network<br />

Eurofootball has 850 po<strong>in</strong>ts of sales<br />

with attractive exteriors and <strong>in</strong>teriors,<br />

throughout Bulgaria. Each retail location<br />

comes equipped with term<strong>in</strong>als, TV<br />

monitors and Internet connections. The<br />

po<strong>in</strong>ts of sales, open year round, are centrally<br />

located <strong>in</strong> towns and villages, and<br />

a high level of professional and technical<br />

services are offered for utmost clients’<br />

satisfaction.<br />

<br />

Eurofootball’s website, www.eurofootball.bg,<br />

has been receiv<strong>in</strong>g a lot of hits.<br />

Accord<strong>in</strong>g to our latest survey, the number<br />

of one-time visitors per month reached<br />

1.097.738 while the number of comeback<br />

visitors amounted to 13.374.340.<br />

Eurofootball handles a newspaper with a<br />

weekly circulation of more than 80.000.<br />

TV Eurofootball: The programmes are<br />

broadcasted <strong>in</strong> all POS, dur<strong>in</strong>g the entire<br />

open<strong>in</strong>g hours, and <strong>in</strong> some areas, they<br />

are transmitted via satellite or cable.<br />

Our player statistics<br />

Look<strong>in</strong>g at the statistics of past years,<br />

Eurofootball is expect<strong>in</strong>g more than 34<br />

Million visitors-players <strong>in</strong> its retail establishments<br />

for the year 2009.<br />

Clients are predom<strong>in</strong>antly male - 90%<br />

and among players, 50% are between<br />

the age of 20 and 35 years. Players come<br />

from all social classes, thanks to the attractiveness<br />

and variety of the products.<br />

About 37% of the clients are visit<strong>in</strong>g Eurofootball’s<br />

po<strong>in</strong>ts of sales for enterta<strong>in</strong>ment.<br />

Another 21% th<strong>in</strong>k that Eurofootball<br />

is a nice way to spend their free time.<br />

7<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

Most of our players rely on their personal<br />

knowledge, supported by the extensive<br />

volume of statistical data provided by<br />

EUROFOOTBALL.<br />

Gam<strong>in</strong>g Legislation <strong>in</strong> Bulgaria<br />

Eurofootball has a full range license allow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

us to provide additional games,<br />

apart from the exist<strong>in</strong>g ones and to use<br />

<strong>in</strong>teractive channels for distribution such<br />

as telephone bett<strong>in</strong>g that is scheduled<br />

to be launched dur<strong>in</strong>g the second half of<br />

March 2009. We are also envision<strong>in</strong>g new<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g possibilities <strong>in</strong> the fall of 2009.<br />

The company holds a license, issued by<br />

the State Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Committee, for the<br />

organization of bett<strong>in</strong>g on results from<br />

sports competitions. In compliance with<br />

the strict Bulgarian gambl<strong>in</strong>g rules and<br />

laws, Eurofootball monitors its bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />

activities and reports on-l<strong>in</strong>e to the M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />

of F<strong>in</strong>ance. As per the Gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Act, games of chance <strong>in</strong> Bulgaria can be<br />

organized and conducted solely by operators<br />

licensed by the State Commission<br />

on Gambl<strong>in</strong>g, which is the only competent<br />

state authority <strong>in</strong> the country.<br />

Eurofootball’s policy helps support the<br />

State Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Committee, thus protect<strong>in</strong>g<br />

both state and consumers’ <strong>in</strong>terests.<br />

In addition, Eurofootball has been faced<br />

with a new challenge presented by illegal<br />

local gambl<strong>in</strong>g operations and Internet<br />

operators and we have been ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

ground <strong>in</strong> this fight by improv<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

quality of our services and the products<br />

we are offer<strong>in</strong>g.


Czech Republic<br />

JUDr. Ales Husak Chairman of the<br />

Board of Directors and General Director<br />

SAZKA was established <strong>in</strong> 1956 and s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

January 1, 1957, the organization has been<br />

owned by civic associations active <strong>in</strong> sports<br />

and physical education. The Czech Republic<br />

has a population of about 10 million<br />

people of which roughly 25% are members<br />

of those associations. SAZKA has been the<br />

largest provider of funds to good causes<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic for more than fifty<br />

years. While hundreds of operators are<br />

active <strong>in</strong> the country’s gam<strong>in</strong>g market,<br />

SAZKA makes up approximately 50% of all<br />

contributions of the sector to good causes.<br />

Neither the State nor any <strong>in</strong>dividual has<br />

ever owned a share <strong>in</strong> the SAZKA jo<strong>in</strong>tstock<br />

company, and SAZKA has never<br />

had the monopoly of the bett<strong>in</strong>g and lottery<br />

market <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic. The<br />

oldest bett<strong>in</strong>g game, named Sazka (Toto)<br />

was launched <strong>in</strong> September 1956, while<br />

the oldest number lottery, named Sportka<br />

(lotto) has been played s<strong>in</strong>ce April 1957.<br />

<br />

SAZKA offers a variety of number lotteries<br />

(Sportka, Šastných 10, Euromilióny)<br />

and their optional features (Šance, Šance<br />

milión, Královská hra), as well as <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

lotteries, fast-draw games (Keno, Kostky,<br />

Lucky L<strong>in</strong>es), sports and odds bets. Also,<br />

the StarPort gam<strong>in</strong>g system, a central<br />

lottery system with <strong>in</strong>teractive video-lottery<br />

term<strong>in</strong>als, which the company also<br />

operates, offers almost 30 reel sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>o, lottery and bett<strong>in</strong>g games <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />

accumulated jackpot.<br />

As far as non-lottery products and services<br />

are concerned, SAZKA provides, for<br />

example, an additional service to mobile<br />

phones which allows to sell tickets of<br />

sports, cultural and other events, make<br />

payments by pay-slips, pay bills and <strong>in</strong>surance<br />

premium fees, as well as services<br />

and goods ordered over the Internet.<br />

8<br />

SAZKA currently operates approximately<br />

6,500 on-l<strong>in</strong>e term<strong>in</strong>als for lottery and<br />

non-lottery services and more than 1,000<br />

term<strong>in</strong>als of the StarPort gam<strong>in</strong>g system.<br />

Most of sales <strong>in</strong> the bett<strong>in</strong>g field are traditionally<br />

generated by number lotteries.<br />

StarPort and odds bett<strong>in</strong>g shares are<br />

also on the rise, with those segments<br />

grow<strong>in</strong>g most dynamically. The greatest<br />

year-to-year rise was achieved <strong>in</strong> 2008<br />

by odds bett<strong>in</strong>g stakes (47.3%) and Star-<br />

Port stakes (26.0%), while <strong>in</strong>stant lottery<br />

stakes were up by 3.8%. Non-lottery products<br />

and services make up approximately<br />

10% of the company’s sales.<br />

<br />

SAZKA regularly conducts surveys on bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

behaviour and bettors, <strong>in</strong> cooperation<br />

with renowned op<strong>in</strong>ion poll agencies. The<br />

surveys monitor <strong>in</strong>dividual player groups<br />

by staked amounts, bett<strong>in</strong>g frequency and<br />

type of games; Player profiles are monitored<br />

by game segments (number lotteries,<br />

fast-draw games, sports and odds bets,<br />

<strong>in</strong>stant lotteries, reel-sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g and cas<strong>in</strong>o<br />

games…) <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g products the company<br />

does not operate (raffles, horserac<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

b<strong>in</strong>go, telephone competitions, bar<br />

games, general knowledge competitions,<br />

games with no stake required) and other<br />

leisure activities (theatres, c<strong>in</strong>emas, concerts,<br />

sports…). The last surveys <strong>in</strong>dicated<br />

that 75% of the adult population <strong>in</strong> the<br />

Czech Republic took part <strong>in</strong> games or bets<br />

with a stake required over the last twelve<br />

months. More than a third of them bet at<br />

least once a week and approximately the<br />

same number of people bet once a month,<br />

while the others bet less frequently.<br />

Games where a stake is required are more<br />

often played <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic by<br />

men, young and middle-aged people, people<br />

with a secondary education level who<br />

have not graduated, people with average<br />

or slightly above-average <strong>in</strong>come, and<br />

those liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> larger cities. Most people<br />

play number lotteries (more than half of<br />

the adult population), followed by <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

lotteries (one third of the population) and<br />

odds bets (one fifth of the population).<br />

Ten percent of the population play slot<br />

mach<strong>in</strong>es, which SAZKA does not operate.<br />

The percentage of cas<strong>in</strong>o and fastdraw<br />

game players ranges between 0.5%<br />

and 6% of the population. Measured by<br />

the amount of stakes, people spend most<br />

money on slot mach<strong>in</strong>es, technical games<br />

(<strong>in</strong>teractive video-lottery term<strong>in</strong>als), odds<br />

bets, cas<strong>in</strong>os, lotteries and b<strong>in</strong>go.<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

SAZKA –TENDING TO GOOD CAUSES AND SPORTS<br />

DEVELOPMENT<br />

<br />

The bett<strong>in</strong>g and lottery <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> the<br />

Czech Republic is governed by Act No<br />

202/1990 Coll., on <strong>Lotteries</strong> and Other<br />

Similar Games. At the moment, the M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />

of F<strong>in</strong>ance is consider<strong>in</strong>g the merits of<br />

a new bill that will reflect the changes the<br />

sector has gone through.<br />

The Act def<strong>in</strong>es the <strong>in</strong>dividual bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

games and lotteries (cash or merchandise<br />

lotteries, raffles, number lotteries, <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

lotteries, slot mach<strong>in</strong>es, sports and odds<br />

bets, cas<strong>in</strong>os, technical games, horserac<strong>in</strong>g<br />

bets…) and the operators’ responsibilities.<br />

<strong>Lotteries</strong> and bett<strong>in</strong>g games may<br />

only be operated by a legal entity with<br />

registered offices <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic to<br />

which an authorised body has granted a<br />

licence. Only people above the age of 18<br />

may take part <strong>in</strong> a bett<strong>in</strong>g game or lottery.<br />

As for the <strong>Lottery</strong>, the compulsory portion<br />

of proceeds allocated to good causes<br />

ranges between 6% and 20 %.<br />

The licens<strong>in</strong>g bodies are the M<strong>in</strong>istry of<br />

F<strong>in</strong>ance and, for certa<strong>in</strong> games, Town<br />

Halls or City Halls. The preconditions for<br />

obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the licence <strong>in</strong>clude provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the company’s capital assets and security<br />

deposit, pay<strong>in</strong>g adm<strong>in</strong>istrative and local<br />

fees as well as state supervision fees,<br />

comply<strong>in</strong>g with the compulsory amount of<br />

payments to good causes or obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g an<br />

expert op<strong>in</strong>ion created by an <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />

expert. Pursuant to Section 50, the M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />

of F<strong>in</strong>ance may also permit bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

games and lotteries not governed by law.<br />

In that case, the terms and conditions of<br />

the operation are laid down <strong>in</strong> detail <strong>in</strong> the<br />

licence, while new games are subject to<br />

the provisions of other sections of the Act.<br />

<br />

A number of Internet bett<strong>in</strong>g firms illegally<br />

operate <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic from<br />

abroad, offer<strong>in</strong>g their products without a<br />

licence from the M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance, and<br />

thus operat<strong>in</strong>g at variance with the law.<br />

The amount of funds that Czechs spend<br />

with illegal odds bett<strong>in</strong>g operators is estimated<br />

at CZK 4 billion a year, i.e. one


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

third of this market segment. The M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />

of F<strong>in</strong>ance has confirmed that the activities<br />

of those bett<strong>in</strong>g firms are illegal, and<br />

brought several legal actions associated<br />

with them, with no real outcomes so far.<br />

Due to the fact that illegal foreign operators<br />

are still operat<strong>in</strong>g Internet odds bett<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

not allowed by the State, outside<br />

any regulation, control and supervision,<br />

the M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance has allowed five<br />

domestic companies, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g SAZKA,<br />

to offer their odds bets over the Internet,<br />

effective January 5, 2009. Preconditions<br />

have been set up to obta<strong>in</strong> the licence:<br />

Operators must have their players register<br />

<strong>in</strong> person at retail outlets, get a thorough<br />

identity check, prohibit access by<br />

third parties, and comply with responsible<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g measures. The software used<br />

is subject to certification by an authority<br />

approved by the M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance, the<br />

server must be physically located <strong>in</strong> the<br />

Czech Republic, the state supervision authority<br />

has on-l<strong>in</strong>e access to the system,<br />

Croatia<br />

Games of chance on the Croatian territory<br />

have been organized s<strong>in</strong>ce the Austro-<br />

Hungarian times. A lottery organization<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Republic of Croatia began <strong>in</strong> 1951,<br />

when a Division for Croatia was set up<br />

with<strong>in</strong> the Yugoslav <strong>Lottery</strong>. Croatia acquired<br />

legal jurisdiction over this entity <strong>in</strong><br />

1973 under the name of State Enterprise<br />

of the <strong>Lottery</strong> of Croatia, which became<br />

part of the Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Community of the Yugoslav<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> Organizations. With the establishment<br />

of the Croatian State <strong>in</strong> 1991,<br />

the relationship with the Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Community<br />

of the Yugoslav <strong>Lottery</strong> Organizations<br />

ended, and <strong>in</strong> 1993, the <strong>Lottery</strong> of<br />

Croatia changed its name to the Croatian<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> d.o.o.<br />

The population of Croatia is 4.5 million. In<br />

the last five years the average GDP growth<br />

<strong>in</strong> Croatia was about 5%, while the average<br />

annual <strong>in</strong>flation rate <strong>in</strong> the same period<br />

was about 3.3%. The average annual<br />

growth of the lottery turnover between<br />

2004 and 2007 was about 12%. The Republic<br />

of Croatia is the sole founder of the<br />

Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> d.o.o. Only the Croatian<br />

and the operators are obliged to pay all<br />

fees and contributions to good causes, as<br />

set out by law. The operators who have<br />

obta<strong>in</strong>ed the licence have undertaken to<br />

follow the <strong>Europe</strong>an Responsible Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Standards.<br />

<br />

At the moment, we can see an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />

pressure <strong>in</strong> the Czech Republic for the<br />

liberalisation of reel sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g and cas<strong>in</strong>o<br />

games over the Internet, and for allow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

bets over mobile phones. SAZKA does<br />

not support those efforts, po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g out<br />

the risks <strong>in</strong>volved, particularly <strong>in</strong> terms<br />

of gambl<strong>in</strong>g addiction and underage gambl<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

At the same time, the company is<br />

tak<strong>in</strong>g steps to be prepared for all alternatives<br />

of future legislative developments.<br />

Regard<strong>in</strong>g its bus<strong>in</strong>ess activities, SAZKA<br />

focuses on optimis<strong>in</strong>g its sales network,<br />

support<strong>in</strong>g traditional and enhanc<strong>in</strong>g new<br />

products, open<strong>in</strong>g its loyalty programme<br />

to customers of lottery and non-lottery<br />

CROATIA: FROM THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE<br />

TO A MODERN LOTTERY<br />

Parliament may determ<strong>in</strong>e the rights and<br />

obligations of this sole founder. A supervisory<br />

commission oversees operations of<br />

the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> and a director manages<br />

the company’s operations.<br />

Our <strong>Lottery</strong> has 1,518 full-time employees.<br />

Of this number, 753 are salespeople<br />

and 420 are employed <strong>in</strong> cas<strong>in</strong>os and<br />

clubs offer<strong>in</strong>g slot mach<strong>in</strong>es. In addition,<br />

the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> cooperates with 806<br />

other retailers. It operates through 1185<br />

po<strong>in</strong>ts of sale: 379 are owned or leased<br />

by the <strong>Lottery</strong> and 806 are regular retail<br />

shops, mostly tobacco and newspaper<br />

shops and convenient stores. In accordance<br />

with the Law, payments to participate<br />

<strong>in</strong> games and buy<strong>in</strong>g lottery tickets<br />

are only accepted at po<strong>in</strong>ts of sales. Remote<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g is not permitted.<br />

In the last several years the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

has successfully implemented new<br />

games and <strong>in</strong>troduced important changes<br />

– Bett<strong>in</strong>g (June 2004), Occasional <strong>Lotteries</strong><br />

that comb<strong>in</strong>e classic and <strong>in</strong>stant lotteries<br />

(November 2004), the Occasional<br />

9<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

services, and utilis<strong>in</strong>g the potential of<br />

products with the fastest growth rate, notably<br />

Internet odds bets and the StarPort<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g system.<br />

In recent years, our company has paid<br />

great attention to build<strong>in</strong>g up a comprehensive<br />

and mutually connected system of<br />

the corporation’s websites which <strong>in</strong>clude<br />

the follow<strong>in</strong>g portals: www.sazka.cz (<strong>in</strong>formation<br />

about the company, its lottery<br />

and non-lottery services), www.sazkatip.<br />

cz (Internet odds bets), www.sazkastarport.cz<br />

(StarPort gam<strong>in</strong>g system), www.<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>osazka.cz (reel sp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g and cas<strong>in</strong>o<br />

games “for fun”), www.sazkaticket.cz<br />

(event ticket sales), www.tipovani.cz (discussion<br />

server for bettors), www.o2arena.<br />

cz (multipurpose arena), www.kpsmedia.<br />

cz (subsidiary’s websites), www.kolby.cz<br />

(subsidiary’s websites), Intranet for employees<br />

and Extranet for bus<strong>in</strong>ess partners,<br />

providers and term<strong>in</strong>al operators.<br />

Game ‘A for Auto’ (December 2006), A<br />

+ (March 2008), B<strong>in</strong>go Plus (September<br />

2005), Keno (January 2006), two weekly<br />

draw<strong>in</strong>gs for a Lotto 7/39 (May 2005), a<br />

new revised platform for Bett<strong>in</strong>g games<br />

(February 2008) and a redesign of the<br />

Joker game (April 2008). However, the<br />

greatest advance <strong>in</strong> our operations has<br />

been the transition to a new communications<br />

<strong>in</strong>frastructure that provides greater<br />

capacity and new functionalities such as<br />

implementation of onl<strong>in</strong>e ticket sales, a<br />

new type of record keep<strong>in</strong>g for sales and<br />

<strong>in</strong>ventory by means of an onl<strong>in</strong>e transaction<br />

system on all term<strong>in</strong>als and the <strong>in</strong>troduction<br />

of a new ERP system.<br />

The Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> currently offers the<br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g games:<br />

Lotto 7/39: Launched <strong>in</strong> 1985, we are offer<strong>in</strong>g<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce May 2005 two weekly public<br />

draw<strong>in</strong>gs that are broadcast live every<br />

Wednesdays and Saturdays. The highest<br />

jackpot paid was about 2.5 million<br />

EUR. This Lotto generates the highest<br />

General Government Receipts (GGR).<br />

: The draw<strong>in</strong>gs are also public


and broadcast live on TV every Sundays.<br />

The highest jackpot paid was 2.2 million<br />

EUR. Our game of Joker is a supplementary<br />

game to the Lotto 7/39, Lotto 6/45 or<br />

Toto13 – by mark<strong>in</strong>g the Joker play area, a<br />

player participates <strong>in</strong> a game <strong>in</strong> which the<br />

play slip serial number must match partly<br />

or completely the drawn Joker number.<br />

: Recently created, it is a<br />

successful TV Show watched on a regular<br />

basis by thousands of viewers every Saturday.<br />

All age groups are attracted to the<br />

game. Cash prizes are given to the show’s<br />

participants and the game has a supplementary<br />

game, B<strong>in</strong>go Plus.<br />

Also, we offer a daily Keno, a prognostic<br />

game <strong>in</strong> which players bet on the<br />

outcomes of 13 football matches. On the<br />

<strong>in</strong>stant lottery front, we have launched a<br />

variety of games: ,<br />

Instant tickets and Occasional lotteries<br />

(Christmas, Easter for example.)<br />

Bett<strong>in</strong>g has been implemented <strong>in</strong> 2004.<br />

We present our bet offers through an IT<br />

support that has given players more options,<br />

such as play<strong>in</strong>g on multiple systems,<br />

more events for one ticket, a simpler way of<br />

fill<strong>in</strong>g out the play slip, as well as additional<br />

services such as for example SMS check of<br />

the status of players’ bett<strong>in</strong>g tickets, and<br />

payment of the w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs with<strong>in</strong> 30 m<strong>in</strong>utes<br />

of the end of an event. We also operate 26<br />

slot mach<strong>in</strong>e venues and seven cas<strong>in</strong>os.<br />

Our most successful games are Lotto 7/39<br />

and Sports Bett<strong>in</strong>g. The b<strong>in</strong>go game is <strong>in</strong> a<br />

steady third place. Although the Lotto 7/39<br />

is the lead<strong>in</strong>g game <strong>in</strong> terms of GGR, Sports<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g surpasses Lotto 7/39 if total turnover<br />

is taken <strong>in</strong>to consideration. In regard<br />

to bett<strong>in</strong>g, the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> must take<br />

<strong>in</strong>to account the strong competition from<br />

11 registered and well-organized bookmakers<br />

that together have more than 2,200<br />

sales locations <strong>in</strong> the Republic of Croatia.<br />

10<br />

The advantage of the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

over other bett<strong>in</strong>g establishments lies <strong>in</strong><br />

the larger number of its own sales locations<br />

where all other lottery products are<br />

sold, so the degree of utilization of the<br />

sales force is greater. S<strong>in</strong>ce bookmakers<br />

<strong>in</strong> our country began to develop <strong>in</strong> 2000,<br />

and the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> began to organize<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g only <strong>in</strong> June 2004, it must be<br />

stated that the penetration of this protected<br />

market was difficult. However, with<br />

the implementation of second-generation<br />

wager<strong>in</strong>g systems, the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

could reach 50% more consumers <strong>in</strong><br />

February 2008, compared with the same<br />

period the previous year. These systems<br />

brought new functionalities that were<br />

developed completely <strong>in</strong>-house, offer<strong>in</strong>g<br />

players an easier access to a game.<br />

While everyone plays Lotto (especially<br />

7/39), Instant and Express lotteries, more<br />

women play the promotional games, occasional<br />

lotteries and b<strong>in</strong>go. More men<br />

bet <strong>in</strong> the bett<strong>in</strong>g shops and go to cas<strong>in</strong>os.<br />

Also, the promotional games, us<strong>in</strong>g a coupon,<br />

are more accepted by older players<br />

and games via SMS are more attractive to<br />

the younger population – Such a market<br />

analysis will help us evaluate if we need to<br />

adjust the prize fund.<br />

Almost half of the respondents play games<br />

of chance one to four times per month<br />

(48%). Male, younger and not yet part of<br />

the work force (ma<strong>in</strong>ly undergraduates)<br />

respondents play more frequently compared<br />

to the rest of the respondents of<br />

the cited groups (for bett<strong>in</strong>g games). The<br />

highest number of respondents spends up<br />

to 100 HRK per month (81%), while 1% of<br />

those spend more than 1,000 HRK. By age<br />

groups, the 18-34 years old spend more<br />

than 1,000 HRK per month, and based on<br />

gender, only men spend more than 750<br />

HRK per month – aga<strong>in</strong> for bett<strong>in</strong>g games.<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Legal situation<br />

Games of chance <strong>in</strong> Croatia are operated<br />

under the provisions of Gam<strong>in</strong>g Act of 2002.<br />

The Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> has a monopoly on organiz<strong>in</strong>g<br />

lottery games. The Gam<strong>in</strong>g Act divides<br />

games of chance <strong>in</strong>to four categories:<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong>, Bett<strong>in</strong>g, Cas<strong>in</strong>o and Slot mach<strong>in</strong>es.<br />

The Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong> is licensed to offer all<br />

of these games. For any new games, the<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> must seek approval for the Rules<br />

of the Game from the M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance,<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>g that we must adhere to the provisions<br />

of the Gam<strong>in</strong>g Act: A game of chance<br />

- not a game of skill, structure of the game,<br />

percentage of the payouts, ways <strong>in</strong> which<br />

the draws are organized, etc. Remote gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

still is not permitted. We expect that a<br />

new law, which is supposed to be passed<br />

<strong>in</strong> the third quarter of 2009, will permit us<br />

to operate games via the Internet, mobile<br />

phones, ITV etc. This will be an important<br />

po<strong>in</strong>t to enable to enhance the channell<strong>in</strong>g<br />

activities of the Croatian <strong>Lottery</strong>.<br />

Unfortunately, our Gam<strong>in</strong>g Act does not<br />

recognize Internet operators as illegal operators.<br />

Only the sell<strong>in</strong>g of tickets is illegal.<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce Internet operators do not sell tickets,<br />

they are not treated as crim<strong>in</strong>al offenders.<br />

The <strong>Lottery</strong> has tried to persuade the legal<br />

authorities that there are exceptions to an<br />

orthodox <strong>in</strong>terpretation of the law, but we<br />

have not had any success. We are expect<strong>in</strong>g<br />

that the new Gam<strong>in</strong>g Act will expla<strong>in</strong><br />

precisely what a violation is or is not.<br />

<br />

Many approaches can be key developmental<br />

factors for our future. Strengthen<strong>in</strong>g our<br />

brand as a competent, responsible organizer<br />

of games of chance for one; Increas<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

share of the Sports bett<strong>in</strong>g market; Limit<br />

our risk with implementation of modern security<br />

systems; Migration from a sell<strong>in</strong>g network<br />

owned by the <strong>Lottery</strong> to a retailer network;<br />

Addition of multi-jurisdictional games<br />

with a larger player base and therefore the<br />

opportunity for larger jackpots; And <strong>in</strong>novation<br />

through the use of new technologies,<br />

and new sales channels (Internet, mobile<br />

telephones, ITV, self-service mach<strong>in</strong>es) for<br />

both new and exist<strong>in</strong>g games.


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Serbia<br />

Tijana Andjelic General Director<br />

The Serbian State <strong>Lottery</strong> was launched at the<br />

end of November 2004. Presently, we are operat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

5 games: Lotto, B<strong>in</strong>go, Instant <strong>Lottery</strong> /<br />

Scratch tickets, SMS lottery and Tombola.<br />

Our game of LOTO has acquired legendary<br />

status and is now a household name for<br />

Serbian people. It is the number 1 game <strong>in</strong><br />

Serbia with very high brand awareness and<br />

over 50% share of our portfolio. LOTO was<br />

launched <strong>in</strong> January 2005 and s<strong>in</strong>ce then,<br />

it has been associated with “dreams come<br />

true”, “chance for everyone” and benefits to<br />

the whole community. Our lotto game is a<br />

7/39 formula that is tailored to fit our players’<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g patterns with a small number of<br />

maximum prizes, attractive mid-tier prizes<br />

and a high number of low-tier prizes. In<br />

particular, the jackpot starts at e350 000<br />

with a rollover of e100 000 added to each<br />

draw if there is no w<strong>in</strong>ner dur<strong>in</strong>g the last<br />

draw. Last year, more than 9.7 million s<strong>in</strong>gle<br />

prizes, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g jackpots, mid-tier and low<br />

prizes, for a total amount of 23 million Euros<br />

<strong>in</strong> prize payouts, have been won. The TV<br />

Game Show is broadcast on RTS 1 television<br />

channel at 21h00, on Tuesday night. In 2007,<br />

“Republika Srpska” jo<strong>in</strong>ed our jackpot list.<br />

A TV B<strong>in</strong>go is present on the market s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

September 2007 and goes live on the air<br />

every Saturdays. Players must play dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the TV B<strong>in</strong>go show. The numbers are drawn<br />

from a series between 1 and 90, until a w<strong>in</strong>ner<br />

has been established and until 15 w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />

numbers have been drawn <strong>in</strong> one comb<strong>in</strong>ation.<br />

In 2008, we re-worked the whole<br />

TV Show, changed the communication, the<br />

set and the airtime from 9 pm to 6 pm. The<br />

rat<strong>in</strong>gs of the show jumped almost immediately.<br />

A total prize sum of e11.1 million<br />

was awarded dur<strong>in</strong>g 2008. Beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of<br />

2008, we <strong>in</strong>creased the price of the B<strong>in</strong>go<br />

ticket by 30% from 60 D<strong>in</strong> (e0,63) to 80<br />

D<strong>in</strong> (e0,85). As a result, sales decreased by<br />

more than 10% lead<strong>in</strong>g us to the conclusion<br />

that Serbian players are still very much <strong>in</strong>terested<br />

<strong>in</strong> cheap, accessible games. B<strong>in</strong>go<br />

SERBIA: A LOTTERY WITH GREAT FUTURE<br />

had a 23.90% share of the market <strong>in</strong> 2008.<br />

Scratch cards were first launched <strong>in</strong> June<br />

2005. They became a very popular form of<br />

games, due to the opportunity to w<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>stantly<br />

with a low <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>vestment. However, no<br />

new <strong>in</strong>stant tickets were launched for over<br />

two years prior to 2008, thus the decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong><br />

turnover was obvious. By mid-2008, we<br />

started a strong product <strong>in</strong>novation process<br />

with the launch of 4 new <strong>in</strong>stant tickets: Our<br />

<strong>in</strong>stant sales improved. Presently scratch<br />

tickets account for 15.41% of the market<br />

share. Our plan is to grow this segment <strong>in</strong><br />

the upcom<strong>in</strong>g period. At the moment, we offer<br />

a variety of 6 scratch tickets, with different<br />

price levels and prize structures. One of<br />

the best sell<strong>in</strong>g tickets <strong>in</strong> Serbia rema<strong>in</strong>s the<br />

one with an Audi A3 as the ma<strong>in</strong> prize, and<br />

we also launched a «w<strong>in</strong> for life» card.<br />

Our experience tells us that there would be<br />

a huge risk of los<strong>in</strong>g customers if we were<br />

to elim<strong>in</strong>ate low price tickets. Thus the low<br />

cost segment accounts for the major part of<br />

the bus<strong>in</strong>ess – with ticket prices go<strong>in</strong>g from<br />

as low as e0,3 up to e1,1. Last New Year, we<br />

launched a new <strong>in</strong>stant game with a price of<br />

3,2 Euros. This more expensive <strong>in</strong>stant did<br />

not quite fulfil our expectations, ma<strong>in</strong>ly due<br />

to a late launch. However, we realized there<br />

is def<strong>in</strong>itely a potential <strong>in</strong> the high ticket<br />

cost segment and we’ll launch new tickets<br />

<strong>in</strong> 2009 with better plann<strong>in</strong>g. This <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

ticket had the largest prize payout percentage<br />

– 72%, while the payout for other games<br />

varies between 50 and 65 percent.<br />

A SMS <strong>Lottery</strong> was implemented <strong>in</strong> December<br />

2008 and the first round of the game<br />

lasted 4 weeks. By send<strong>in</strong>g a blank SMS to<br />

8888 the player enters the game. W<strong>in</strong>ners<br />

are be<strong>in</strong>g picked on a daily and weekly basis<br />

and once <strong>in</strong> every gam<strong>in</strong>g period, the jackpot<br />

is be<strong>in</strong>g drawn at the <strong>Lottery</strong> via an electronic<br />

system. This lottery’s share <strong>in</strong> 2008<br />

was 1.25% of our game portfolio.<br />

The Tombola game is actually a classical<br />

B<strong>in</strong>go game operated by 53 agents <strong>in</strong> venues<br />

such as Tombola clubs across Serbia.<br />

The numbers are drawn from a series between<br />

1-90. 15 correct numbers make for<br />

a w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g ticket. Tombola has a share of<br />

8.98% of the market.<br />

11<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<br />

The last survey we conducted was <strong>in</strong> February<br />

2008. The results show that 51% of<br />

players are men versus 49% for women –<br />

with 58% be<strong>in</strong>g married and 42% s<strong>in</strong>gle. The<br />

largest player group is among middle-aged<br />

persons (30%), followed by young players<br />

(22%). More than half of players have at least<br />

a secondary education (52%) and 32% belong<br />

to the category with a primary or even<br />

lower education level. University graduates<br />

play the least (16%). Most players reside <strong>in</strong><br />

urban environment (59%) while 41% live <strong>in</strong><br />

rural areas. And Central Serbia comes ahead<br />

with 50% of players while <strong>in</strong> other regions,<br />

Serbian are less <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> games with an<br />

average of more or less 25% of players.<br />

Game legislation<br />

While we have the monopoly <strong>in</strong> classical<br />

games (Lotto, B<strong>in</strong>go, Scratch tickets), we<br />

also have the monopoly <strong>in</strong> Internet gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and mobile phones. We have the possibility<br />

to add other games, and for each new game<br />

we want to add, we need to get first the approval<br />

from the Board of Directors and the<br />

M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance.<br />

In respect to sports bett<strong>in</strong>g, video lottery and<br />

other types of games, there is an open and<br />

very competitive market <strong>in</strong> Serbia. No measures<br />

have been taken yet aga<strong>in</strong>st foreign<br />

offshore-based operators of mostly Internet<br />

games like Poker or sports bett<strong>in</strong>g or even illicit<br />

local ticket sales. Of course, the M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />

of F<strong>in</strong>ance and its Games of Chance Adm<strong>in</strong>istration<br />

have assured us that all efforts will<br />

be put <strong>in</strong> place to f<strong>in</strong>d a solution to undertake<br />

these activities – an important step, especially<br />

once the State <strong>Lottery</strong> of Serbia starts<br />

operat<strong>in</strong>g its games on Internet.<br />

Regard<strong>in</strong>g local competitors, currently we<br />

have a wide range of <strong>in</strong>direct competition<br />

com<strong>in</strong>g from bus<strong>in</strong>esses such as newspapers,<br />

magaz<strong>in</strong>es, banks and others. These<br />

private companies try to <strong>in</strong>crease their revenue<br />

by offer<strong>in</strong>g prize games <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e with the<br />

prizes we offer. Also, some local companies<br />

provide Internet gam<strong>in</strong>g that is not allowed<br />

nor legally authorized.<br />

<br />

In 2009, the State <strong>Lottery</strong> of Serbia plans to<br />

strengthen its gam<strong>in</strong>g model <strong>in</strong> order to better<br />

serve the players, the government and<br />

the society’s <strong>in</strong>terests. There are 3 priorities<br />

<strong>in</strong> this area: Re<strong>in</strong>forc<strong>in</strong>g our sales network,<br />

launch<strong>in</strong>g Internet and poker games, and<br />

gett<strong>in</strong>g ready to enter the sports bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

market <strong>in</strong> a regulated and controlled format.


Hungary<br />

Szerencsejáték Zrt., launched on January<br />

1st of 1991, is the largest gam<strong>in</strong>g service<br />

provider <strong>in</strong> Hungary. It has exclusive<br />

rights to distribute number lottery games<br />

and <strong>in</strong>stant tickets throughout the entire<br />

country. Also, the <strong>Lottery</strong> has <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong><br />

four Hungarian cas<strong>in</strong>os.<br />

<br />

The <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitution operates a nationwide<br />

retail network, supported by an onl<strong>in</strong>e<br />

technology. The majority of products<br />

are available by phone, on the Internet<br />

and via SMS, too. Currently, the <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

operates seven number games (5/90 lottery,<br />

6/45 lottery, Scand<strong>in</strong>avian (7/35)<br />

Lotto, Joker, Keno, Luxor and Puttó), four<br />

types of sports bets (Toto Pools, Tippmix,<br />

Tippmax and Goal Toto), and a portfolio<br />

of 10-14 varieties of <strong>in</strong>stant tickets. Instants<br />

are sold for 200-300 and 500 HUF<br />

(from 0,66 to 1,66e).<br />

<br />

Two thirds of the Hungarian adult population,<br />

evaluated at approximately five million<br />

people, are regular customers of our<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong>. Our company has a market share<br />

of more than 50% <strong>in</strong> the Hungarian gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

market. As a result of the company’s<br />

dynamic growth, the average gam<strong>in</strong>g revenue<br />

per resident is the highest among<br />

the lottery companies of Central <strong>Eastern</strong><br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an countries. Szerencsejáték Zrt.<br />

has <strong>in</strong>creased its turnover by nearly 70%<br />

over the past two years.<br />

Our market researches show that <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

lotteries are by a slight marg<strong>in</strong> the preferred<br />

games for players <strong>in</strong> the age category<br />

of 30+, compared to younger players.<br />

Regard<strong>in</strong>g other demographic parameters,<br />

women tend to buy tickets slightly more<br />

than men. Also, players with lower educational<br />

level prefer these types of tickets<br />

compared to players with a higher education.<br />

In terms of <strong>in</strong>come, we can say that a<br />

typical <strong>in</strong>stant player has average or lower<br />

<strong>in</strong>come. These differences compared to national<br />

values are very small, though.<br />

Legal situation<br />

For each new game, a license must be<br />

obta<strong>in</strong>ed from the Gam<strong>in</strong>g Supervisory<br />

Board, which is an agency with<strong>in</strong> the<br />

Treasury Department. The license procedure<br />

is regulated by laws: The two ma<strong>in</strong><br />

regulations are the Hungarian Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Act - 1991: XXXIV Act, and its Executive<br />

Act – 32/2005. (X.21) PM. Act. The Gam-<br />

12<br />

SZERENCSEJÁTÉK ZRT., OF HUNGARY<br />

<strong>in</strong>g Supervisory Board is entitled to issue<br />

the licenses. If the game documentation is<br />

<strong>in</strong> accordance with the Hungarian Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Act, the license is granted with<strong>in</strong> 60<br />

days and the game can be <strong>in</strong>troduced to<br />

the market.<br />

The ma<strong>in</strong> steps of the authoriz<strong>in</strong>g procedure<br />

are as follows:<br />

<br />

<br />

game, calculations, figure of the game, etc.)<br />

<br />

Board and pay the fee<br />

<br />

Game environment<br />

Until the end of the 1980s, the Hungarian<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g market was characterized as a monopoly<br />

environment. The product range<br />

consisted of traditional pools and lottery,<br />

and a few prize draws, which were very<br />

popular among the population. The other<br />

segments of the gam<strong>in</strong>g market, such as<br />

horse rac<strong>in</strong>g and cas<strong>in</strong>os, attracted only a<br />

m<strong>in</strong>or group of players.<br />

Szerencsejáték Zrt. was founded <strong>in</strong> a period,<br />

which co<strong>in</strong>cided with the liberalization<br />

of a considerable part of the market.<br />

As a result, private and foreign operators<br />

appeared on the markets of both draw<strong>in</strong>g<br />

games and prize tickets. It resulted <strong>in</strong><br />

an oversupply of gam<strong>in</strong>g activities. The<br />

number of operat<strong>in</strong>g licenses for cas<strong>in</strong>os<br />

exceeded market demand, and the slot<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

mach<strong>in</strong>es, formerly allowed only <strong>in</strong> exclusive<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>os, were made available to the<br />

general public <strong>in</strong> more and more public<br />

places. The tax regulations, implemented<br />

by the Act on Gam<strong>in</strong>g Operations that was<br />

passed <strong>in</strong> August 1991, created a detrimental<br />

position ma<strong>in</strong>ly for the <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

and pools. The purchas<strong>in</strong>g power of the<br />

population decl<strong>in</strong>ed, and players became<br />

less <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> traditional games. The<br />

expansion of game management activities<br />

and the participation <strong>in</strong> the organization<br />

of horserac<strong>in</strong>g bets, also show<strong>in</strong>g a<br />

decl<strong>in</strong>e, were not successful ideas either.<br />

Consequently, Szerencsejáték Zrt.’s revenue<br />

<strong>in</strong> real terms kept fall<strong>in</strong>g until 1994.<br />

The <strong>Lottery</strong> had to f<strong>in</strong>d a way out of the<br />

press<strong>in</strong>g situation through technological<br />

development with the aim of strengthen<strong>in</strong>g<br />

trust, extend<strong>in</strong>g the range of traditional<br />

games and moderniz<strong>in</strong>g its sales<br />

network. Through the rationalization of<br />

the bus<strong>in</strong>ess policy, the gam<strong>in</strong>g profile<br />

became clearer, and the organization<br />

of horserac<strong>in</strong>g bets was taken out of its<br />

scope of activities. The amendments of<br />

the Act on Gam<strong>in</strong>g Operations also made<br />

its contribution to the consolidation of the<br />

market. The sale of draw games, sports<br />

bets and prize tickets were assigned under<br />

the company’s exclusive competence;<br />

Restrictions were imposed on operators<br />

with an unclear background, stricter conditions<br />

were <strong>in</strong>troduced for the issue of<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>o licenses, while under the new conditions<br />

of taxation, slot mach<strong>in</strong>es emerg<strong>in</strong>g<br />

from their illicit position began to experience<br />

a dynamic development. By the<br />

end of the 1990s, the Hungarian gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

market had sprung <strong>in</strong>to a two-commercial-pole<br />

activity.


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Ukra<strong>in</strong>e<br />

Founded <strong>in</strong> 1971, our company has come<br />

a long way and has followed a successful<br />

path of development. From a Soviet<br />

state-owned enterprise to a modern lottery<br />

company, we are now the largest operator<br />

of lottery games <strong>in</strong> Ukra<strong>in</strong>e. When<br />

Ukra<strong>in</strong>e became an <strong>in</strong>dependent nation,<br />

our company was renamed <strong>in</strong> 1991 after a<br />

famous Soviet number lottery, «SportLoto»<br />

(the first edition was held <strong>in</strong> April 1971):<br />

«MolodSportLoto», and <strong>in</strong> 1999, our company’s<br />

name became the current «M.S.L.»<br />

Our best brands<br />

Today, we carry almost every type of lottery<br />

games: Classic number lottery «MEG-<br />

ALOT», lottery b<strong>in</strong>go «Loto-Zabava»,<br />

lottery TOTO «Sportprognoz», <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

lottery with TV draws: «Who’s There»,<br />

lottery pick-4 «The race for money», and<br />

more than 10 <strong>in</strong>stant scratch-off lotteries.<br />

We haven’t undertaken any special<br />

measures aga<strong>in</strong>st foreign operators and<br />

local competitors. Our company has good<br />

reputation, and we aspire to preserve it.<br />

Our company aspires to comply with the<br />

requirements of the market (successful<br />

games, reliability – payments <strong>in</strong> full of<br />

jackpot’s prizes, advertisements, etc.). We<br />

also enhance the requirements for Corporate<br />

Social Responsibility. Szerencsejáték<br />

Zrt pays particular attention to the security<br />

of games, <strong>in</strong> order to reta<strong>in</strong> the trust of<br />

players. Sales and data process<strong>in</strong>g are exclusively<br />

performed electronically these<br />

days, whereby any bet made at any po<strong>in</strong>t<br />

<strong>in</strong> the country is entered <strong>in</strong>to the central<br />

computer system with<strong>in</strong> five seconds. The<br />

security of the system is guaranteed by<br />

strict <strong>in</strong>ternal regulations, and the fairness<br />

of the games is ensured by the presence of<br />

a Public Notary, as well as overall control<br />

by the Gam<strong>in</strong>g Supervisory Authority. The<br />

coverage of the network is now almost<br />

complete. The full range of games is available<br />

at 3,600 po<strong>in</strong>ts of sale, of which 298<br />

are Szerencsejáték Zrt’s outlets.<br />

The most successful game has been «Loto-Zabava»<br />

(a b<strong>in</strong>go game), which this<br />

year will celebrate its 10th anniversary.<br />

It still is the most popular game <strong>in</strong> the<br />

country not only with the largest audience<br />

of players, but also with consistently<br />

high television rat<strong>in</strong>gs. Another<br />

game has been quite successful: An unusual<br />

lottery called «Who’s There», with a<br />

unique draw<strong>in</strong>g mechanism, and a particularly<br />

captivat<strong>in</strong>g prize: A chance to w<strong>in</strong><br />

an apartment. The idea of such a game<br />

came from our company’s staff. This is an<br />

<strong>in</strong>stant lottery. One of the prizes is an opportunity<br />

to participate <strong>in</strong> the TV game<br />

show that offers a flat as its ma<strong>in</strong> prize.<br />

This lottery game is based on a popular<br />

game that is played with a dice. Players<br />

take turn to throw the dice and walk on<br />

the map. The one who f<strong>in</strong>ishes first has<br />

13<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<br />

The future improvements focus <strong>in</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

modern forms of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment for<br />

the players, while ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a responsible<br />

approach. New sales channels, namely<br />

mobile bett<strong>in</strong>g and ATMs, have recently<br />

been added besides the traditional term<strong>in</strong>al-based<br />

sales network and Internet.<br />

New developments are be<strong>in</strong>g evaluated<br />

for self-service term<strong>in</strong>als, special mobile<br />

games and <strong>in</strong>teractive television.<br />

In terms of <strong>in</strong>stant tickets, we are plann<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to launch a new ’top high’ (1000<br />

HUF – 3,33e) price category <strong>in</strong> the<br />

near future. Also, <strong>in</strong> November 2008, we<br />

launched “World Poker Tour”, which is<br />

the first licensed game <strong>in</strong> Hungary. With<br />

this scratch card, players can apply for a<br />

second chance draw where they can w<strong>in</strong><br />

exclusive poker merchandises over the<br />

usual cash prize. Also, we are look<strong>in</strong>g at<br />

<strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the upcom<strong>in</strong>g years other<br />

licensed games. This year, our new target<br />

is a Monopoly game that could be an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g<br />

board game type for <strong>in</strong>stant tickets.<br />

M.S.L. and the future of <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> Ukra<strong>in</strong>e<br />

won the apartment. The lottery ticket<br />

itself shows a map and the scratch area<br />

serves as a substitute for the dice.<br />

This game enjoys a wide appeal because<br />

of the many <strong>in</strong>teractive competitions that<br />

take place dur<strong>in</strong>g the TV show, giv<strong>in</strong>g viewers<br />

a chance to w<strong>in</strong> a flat. The lottery game<br />

has been played for over 4.5 years and has<br />

rema<strong>in</strong>ed widely popular among players.<br />

Early this year, we have chosen to present<br />

this game «Who’s There» at the sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

«New Colors of Advertis<strong>in</strong>g» <strong>in</strong> London.<br />

<br />

We have studied the many categories of<br />

players and their preferences. The results<br />

show that the ratio of men to women<br />

roughly equals: 50/50. The education<br />

level of most players is high school or college.<br />

The most active players belong to<br />

age groups 40 +, and 25-29. There was


no clear geographical <strong>in</strong>dication for the<br />

most active players - Each region of the<br />

country shows zones of both slow and<br />

high gam<strong>in</strong>g activity.<br />

<br />

M.S.L. is the only game operator <strong>in</strong> Ukra<strong>in</strong>e,<br />

with a license to conduct all types of lotteries.<br />

Before launch<strong>in</strong>g any new game, and<br />

accord<strong>in</strong>g to the law, the lottery must go<br />

through the approval procedure evaluated<br />

by the M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance.<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce 2005, Ukra<strong>in</strong>e has imposed a moratorium<br />

on issu<strong>in</strong>g licenses to new lottery<br />

operators. The other two operators<br />

on the Ukra<strong>in</strong>ian market are licensed to<br />

conduct only one type of lottery: Either a<br />

number game or <strong>in</strong>stant.<br />

In the fall 2007, <strong>in</strong> partnership with Scientific<br />

Games International, we have developed<br />

a new bus<strong>in</strong>ess approach to improve<br />

each phase of our <strong>in</strong>stant lottery bus<strong>in</strong>ess,<br />

<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g production, transportation,<br />

quality storage, optimization of distribu-<br />

Poland<br />

January 25, 1956 was the launch date<br />

of Totalizator Sportowy. S<strong>in</strong>ce then, we<br />

have added many new games to our mix<br />

to better satisfy our players and their<br />

chang<strong>in</strong>g preferences.<br />

Duy Lotek – is a lotto game that represents<br />

about 54 per cent of our total game<br />

sales. Multi Lotek – one day keno has a<br />

14<br />

tion networks and new technology implementation.<br />

And <strong>in</strong> the summer 2008, we<br />

were able to launch a new l<strong>in</strong>e of products<br />

bear<strong>in</strong>g the mark of the new technology.<br />

Today, we have on the market 7 new <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

lotteries, and look<strong>in</strong>g at the results<br />

of the first months <strong>in</strong> operation, these new<br />

games have generated the highest sales<br />

among <strong>in</strong>stant lotteries <strong>in</strong> Ukra<strong>in</strong>e. 6 new<br />

lotteries are under development and will<br />

be implemented this year.<br />

Our plans<br />

Today, most of the M.S.L. games are distributed<br />

via onl<strong>in</strong>e term<strong>in</strong>als, and the onl<strong>in</strong>e<br />

network keeps grow<strong>in</strong>g. By the end<br />

of 2009, we plan to br<strong>in</strong>g the number of<br />

term<strong>in</strong>als to 4 800. By the end of 2012, we<br />

TOTALIZATOR SPORTOWY<br />

30% share of our portfolio while our other<br />

games come at a lower level: Express<br />

Lotek – a lotto (3.7%), Twój Szczliwy<br />

Numerek – Powerball-type game (1.6%),<br />

a 5 m<strong>in</strong>utes Keno (3%), zdrapki –<br />

scratchcards (7.7%), Los Milionos, a raffle<br />

lottery, a brand new product that has<br />

just been <strong>in</strong>troduced on the market.<br />

When try<strong>in</strong>g to know more about our<br />

players’ profile, we conduct surveys<br />

and the latest shows that our clients are<br />

mostly men (a little bit more than 55%.)<br />

They are ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> the age group of 25-<br />

54, with a secondary or a higher education.<br />

The groups that seem to play most<br />

often live <strong>in</strong> mid-size to large cities.<br />

Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the gam<strong>in</strong>g law <strong>in</strong> effect <strong>in</strong><br />

Poland, Totalizator Sportowy can launch<br />

new products such as number games, lot-<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

hope to more than double that number -<br />

up to 10 000.<br />

We strive to ensure that all our lottery<br />

games are sold only via our onl<strong>in</strong>e term<strong>in</strong>als.<br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce last autumn, the most popular<br />

lottery tickets «Loto-Zabava» are provided<br />

only by term<strong>in</strong>als (a change from the<br />

previously pr<strong>in</strong>ted version). Soon, we will<br />

take an even more radical step by implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the transfer to term<strong>in</strong>al sales of<br />

the <strong>in</strong>stant lottery tickets «Who’s There».<br />

In the near future we <strong>in</strong>tend to extend<br />

the reach of our number games and<br />

sports lottery, a project of great importance<br />

that needs to be put <strong>in</strong> place because<br />

it will give players the opportunity<br />

to place bets on exist<strong>in</strong>g games as well as<br />

new lotteries via the Internet. We believe<br />

that the future of the lottery market <strong>in</strong><br />

Ukra<strong>in</strong>e depends on a quick and successful<br />

<strong>in</strong>troduction of the advanced gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

technology <strong>in</strong> every ways.<br />

teries or video lotteries. First, the Board<br />

of Directors of Totalizator Sportowy must<br />

approve every new product. Then, these<br />

products are presented to the State Treasury<br />

handl<strong>in</strong>g all gam<strong>in</strong>g regulations for official<br />

approval. For now, Internet and mobile<br />

phone games are forbidden <strong>in</strong> Poland.<br />

Set up by our legislative system, Totalizator<br />

Sportowy has the monopoly of all<br />

number games, money lotteries, video<br />

lotteries and Teleb<strong>in</strong>go. As of now, private<br />

local or foreign games operators<br />

do not have any legal recourse for those<br />

games and thus are not allowed to sell<br />

them <strong>in</strong> the country.<br />

Slot mach<strong>in</strong>es are not under the public<br />

monopoly. There are several dozens of<br />

companies offer<strong>in</strong>g slot mach<strong>in</strong>es on the<br />

Polish market. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Polish law,


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Internet companies cannot operate <strong>in</strong><br />

Poland. Nevertheless, Internet companies<br />

have <strong>in</strong>vaded the Polish e-market,<br />

<strong>in</strong> the like of Bet-at-home, Betway, Bet24<br />

and others that are registered <strong>in</strong> socalled<br />

tax heavens, where they put their<br />

servers. These offshore companies do<br />

not pay taxes <strong>in</strong> Poland.<br />

In 2009, Totalizator Sportowy plans to<br />

modify select number games such as<br />

Multi Lotek, which is the second most<br />

profitable product <strong>in</strong> Totalizator’s portfolio.<br />

We are also anticipat<strong>in</strong>g a new step<br />

by expand<strong>in</strong>g our game offers with new<br />

attractive products. Totalizator Sportowy<br />

also plans to launch about 30 new scratch<br />

cards annually, start<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 2009.<br />

After conduct<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>-depth analysis of<br />

Aivar Lepp CEO<br />

Eesti Loto was founded <strong>in</strong> February 1971.<br />

In Estonia, many different games have<br />

ga<strong>in</strong>ed popularity and among them B<strong>in</strong>go<br />

Loto, Keno Loto and <strong>in</strong>stant scratch-off<br />

lotteries. We also have launched with great<br />

success a coord<strong>in</strong>ated lotto game, mutually<br />

organized with Scand<strong>in</strong>avian countries<br />

and Iceland: Vik<strong>in</strong>g Lotto. Last year,<br />

Vik<strong>in</strong>g Lotto has shown a rapid <strong>in</strong>crease<br />

and is now the most popular game <strong>in</strong> the<br />

country. Nevertheless, number games still<br />

account for more than 80% of our sales.<br />

<br />

To better answer our players’ preferences<br />

our players’ demands, Totalizator has made<br />

plans to <strong>in</strong>itiate <strong>in</strong> our retail stores a new system<br />

for non-lottery services that will allow<br />

players to also pay their bills, get pre-paid<br />

mobile phone cards, obta<strong>in</strong> cash back and<br />

money transfers. Also, if there is a change<br />

<strong>in</strong> our gam<strong>in</strong>g law, Totalizator <strong>in</strong>tends to<br />

launch lottery products on the Internet and<br />

on mobile phones, and therefore is gear<strong>in</strong>g<br />

up for such a novelty. It is also planned to<br />

launch a pilot for the sale of games that are<br />

not related to our lottery products: Horsebett<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

slot mach<strong>in</strong>es and Keno, <strong>in</strong> specific<br />

wager<strong>in</strong>g outlets. Also on the board, analyze<br />

the possibility of implement<strong>in</strong>g video lottery<br />

term<strong>in</strong>als <strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>ts of sales.<br />

ESTONIA’S VIKING LOTTO<br />

A SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES<br />

and know the types of people play<strong>in</strong>g our<br />

games, we conduct surveys. The last survey<br />

shows that women represent a little more<br />

than half (53%) of players <strong>in</strong> Estonia. 27%<br />

of players are <strong>in</strong> the age range of 35-49. The<br />

other age groups have a much smaller percentage<br />

of regular players. Most of the players<br />

come from cities, with the largest group<br />

be<strong>in</strong>g located <strong>in</strong> the capital city of Tall<strong>in</strong>n.<br />

<br />

A gam<strong>in</strong>g operator <strong>in</strong> Estonia has to apply<br />

for a bus<strong>in</strong>ess license if it does not have one<br />

yet. The government issues separate activity<br />

licenses depend<strong>in</strong>g on the types of games<br />

an operator is manag<strong>in</strong>g: Cas<strong>in</strong>o games, skill<br />

games or Toto. An operator also needs to apply<br />

for an operation permit for each <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />

game that will be offered to the market.<br />

<br />

So far, basically noth<strong>in</strong>g has been done<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st Internet operators, operat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

games <strong>in</strong> Estonia from abroad without<br />

proper bus<strong>in</strong>ess license <strong>in</strong> Estonia. Although<br />

our <strong>Lottery</strong> has the monopoly of<br />

games management <strong>in</strong> the country, our<br />

legislators have agreed to open the gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

market to Internet games <strong>in</strong> 2010.<br />

Under that law, an Internet operator will<br />

15<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

be required to have his/her server and<br />

company registered <strong>in</strong> Estonia and will<br />

need to obta<strong>in</strong> a local gam<strong>in</strong>g operation<br />

license <strong>in</strong> order to do bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> Estonia.<br />

<br />

In view of the latest legal situation, Eesti<br />

Loto is look<strong>in</strong>g at launch<strong>in</strong>g Internetbased<br />

games. However, the verdict is still<br />

open whether Eesti Loto, hav<strong>in</strong>g the monopoly<br />

on lotteries, will be authorized to<br />

operate cas<strong>in</strong>o-type and skill games.<br />

Until recently, cas<strong>in</strong>os have been the most<br />

popular k<strong>in</strong>d of gam<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Estonia, generat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

from 8 to 9 times more revenues than<br />

lotteries. With the economic downturn, <strong>in</strong><br />

just one year already, cas<strong>in</strong>os have become<br />

much less attractive while Eesti Loto has<br />

been steadily <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g its revenues. With<br />

the economy as it is now and with the help<br />

of new legislative changes, we are hop<strong>in</strong>g<br />

that Eesti Loto will ga<strong>in</strong> more equal representation<br />

<strong>in</strong> the national gam<strong>in</strong>g sector.


16<br />

P AN RAMA


<strong>Play<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />

Slovakia<br />

TIPOS, National <strong>Lottery</strong> Company a.s. is a<br />

dom<strong>in</strong>ant game provider <strong>in</strong> the Slovak Republic.<br />

Established by Deed of Foundation<br />

on December 11, 1992, the organisation<br />

started to operate on January 28, 1993.<br />

The M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance of the Slovak Republic<br />

is currently the sole shareholder of<br />

the company.<br />

The basic aim of the company TIPOS is to<br />

collect f<strong>in</strong>ancial means <strong>in</strong> the most effective<br />

way through its games and to return<br />

them to the society <strong>in</strong> a form of game revenue<br />

percentage paid to the state budget. In<br />

compliance with the Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Act, funds<br />

from the state budget are subsequently<br />

allocated to welfare services engaged particularly<br />

<strong>in</strong> health care, social care and<br />

assistance, humanitarian care, creation,<br />

development, protection and renewal of<br />

cultural values, support of arts and cultural<br />

activities, education, tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, sports development,<br />

creation and protection of the<br />

environment.<br />

The core bus<strong>in</strong>ess of TIPOS is the operation<br />

of a variety of games, namely <strong>in</strong> the<br />

form of the follow<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>es of products:<br />

<br />

games)<br />

-<br />

CLUB, e-CASINO, e-BINGO and e-TICK-<br />

ETS)<br />

<br />

TIPOS also offers non-lottery products <strong>in</strong><br />

a form of top-up for mobile phones and<br />

through its sister company, it also operates<br />

on the Slovak gambl<strong>in</strong>g market <strong>in</strong> the<br />

competitive environment of cas<strong>in</strong>o gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

The Romanian State <strong>Lottery</strong> (CNLR or Loteria<br />

Romana) was founded <strong>in</strong> 1906. The<br />

organization has established very strict<br />

security standards to provide players with<br />

secure and responsible games.<br />

Successful at provid<strong>in</strong>g a wide variety of<br />

games, Loteria Romana currently offers:<br />

<br />

Joker; Loto 5/40<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

To keep up with players’ new demands and<br />

have a better understand<strong>in</strong>g of their preferences<br />

as well as the type of people who buy<br />

our products, we conduct regular surveys.<br />

A LEADING GAME PROVIDER IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC<br />

operators.<br />

TIPOS performs market<strong>in</strong>g research regard<strong>in</strong>g<br />

play preferences and types of players<br />

on a regular basis. Some of the results<br />

show that:<br />

<br />

men than women, <strong>in</strong> ratio of about 70% to<br />

30%. The average age of a player is around<br />

41 years old, and a majority of players have<br />

a secondary education. Gradually, this<br />

game is becom<strong>in</strong>g more popular among<br />

the younger generation. Also, men play<br />

more the Keno-type number lotteries such<br />

as KENO 10 and KLUB KENO. The other<br />

number lottery EUROMILIÓNY is a popular<br />

game among young players aged 28 to<br />

40. These players have a secondary or even<br />

a university education and this game is<br />

played more by men <strong>in</strong> the higher <strong>in</strong>come<br />

category.<br />

<br />

of women 40 years old and above, a gender<br />

group that represents more than 70% of<br />

<strong>in</strong>stant game players.<br />

<br />

education and a higher <strong>in</strong>come bracket<br />

take part <strong>in</strong> Internet gambl<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Act, operat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

number lotteries and Internet gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is considered to fall with<strong>in</strong> the state lottery<br />

activity. Also, pursuant to the same Act, only<br />

a state lottery can be operated by a national<br />

company whose founder and shareholder<br />

is the Slovak M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance. Thus, the<br />

provisions of the Act clearly give the monopoly<br />

to TIPOS <strong>in</strong> the gam<strong>in</strong>g area. Although Tipos<br />

has no exclusive right on the provision of<br />

The results show that 61% of men play<br />

more often, with women players represent<strong>in</strong>g<br />

only 39%. The average age of players is<br />

around 45 years old. In terms of Education,<br />

we have found that 18.2 % have a superior<br />

education, 60.2 % a secondary education<br />

and 21.6 % have a basic education or none.<br />

As for the geographic areas of our players,<br />

there is a def<strong>in</strong>ite larger market <strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong><br />

cities of the country.<br />

<br />

Loteria Romana has the possibility to add<br />

new games to its portfolio, and must apply<br />

for a license obta<strong>in</strong>ed accord<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />

current legislation. The implementation<br />

of a new game has to be approved by the<br />

General Assembly of CNLR as well as the<br />

Gam<strong>in</strong>g Authorization Commission.<br />

17<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<strong>in</strong>stant lotteries <strong>in</strong> the Slovak Republic, there<br />

are for the moment not many operators provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

these games.<br />

Gam<strong>in</strong>g activities can be operated <strong>in</strong> Slovakia<br />

solely on the basis of licences issued or<br />

granted <strong>in</strong> compliance with the Gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Act.<br />

TIPOS has been conduct<strong>in</strong>g games of<br />

chance on the Slovak market for as long as<br />

16 years and it has developed a stable position<br />

as a trustworthy bus<strong>in</strong>ess entity dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

this period of time. TIPOS generated<br />

and paid to the state budget more than<br />

EUR 246 million dur<strong>in</strong>g its existence.<br />

TIPOS received from players wagers<br />

amount<strong>in</strong>g to more than EUR 1.62 billion<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce its orig<strong>in</strong> and total payout <strong>in</strong> w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

<strong>in</strong> all games exceeded the sum of EUR<br />

919.6 million.<br />

TIPOS has recorded a significant <strong>in</strong>crease<br />

of <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> its games dur<strong>in</strong>g the past two<br />

years, which is demonstrated by an <strong>in</strong>crease<br />

<strong>in</strong> sales. And our LOTO 6/49, with<br />

total wagers reach<strong>in</strong>g over EUR 566 million<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce 1993, is clearly the most successful<br />

game <strong>in</strong> TIPOS history.<br />

CNLR PROVIDING GAMES IN ROMANIA SINCE 1906<br />

Our legislation, that is currently govern<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the gam<strong>in</strong>g activities <strong>in</strong> Romania, does not<br />

allow CNLR to undertake any measures<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st foreign or local competitors. There<br />

is however a project of a new law that will<br />

impact all gam<strong>in</strong>g operations and that will<br />

regulate <strong>in</strong> the future all competitive aspects<br />

of the gam<strong>in</strong>g activities <strong>in</strong> the country.<br />

<br />

The immediate goal of Loteria Romana<br />

is to take actions to improve its current<br />

game portfolio, <strong>in</strong> accordance with the new<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g legislation. To start with, the <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

wishes to diversify games distribution<br />

through the implementation of new channels:<br />

Internet, website and automated systems<br />

<strong>in</strong>stalled at po<strong>in</strong>ts of sales.


As a lead<strong>in</strong>g manufacturer <strong>in</strong> the gam<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustry, Sagem Sécurité is active worldwide and has already<br />

delivered more than 180,000 lottery term<strong>in</strong>als. More than our capacity to meet the market’s current needs, it is<br />

our commitment to provide the most <strong>in</strong>novative solutions that enables us to meet your future requirements.<br />

www.sagem-securite.com<br />

18 P AN RAMA<br />

Sagem Sécurité - AG - imagesource - 59 - 04/2009


Legal<br />

The chang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Europe</strong>an legal landscape<br />

By Philippe Vlaemm<strong>in</strong>ck, Vlaemm<strong>in</strong>ck & Partners<br />

I. <strong>Europe</strong>an regulatory developments<br />

<br />

<br />

In the past twelve months the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

Court of Justice did receive referrals<br />

from several Member States courts <strong>in</strong><br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g dossiers. While most questions<br />

are still address<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>ternal consistency<br />

of the legislation, new problems<br />

have emerged. So there is the question<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Dutch Betfair case whether licenses<br />

<strong>in</strong> gambl<strong>in</strong>g need to be granted<br />

<strong>in</strong> accordance with transparent and nondiscrim<strong>in</strong>atory<br />

rules and procedures, a<br />

po<strong>in</strong>t that AG BOT disputes <strong>in</strong> his op<strong>in</strong>ion<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Ligua Portuguesa de Futebol<br />

case, but there is also the question where<br />

the potential tortuous effects of remote<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g occur <strong>in</strong> relation to the rights of<br />

football players and clubs <strong>in</strong> the Belgian<br />

Real Madrid case. As such all these cases<br />

prove that the legal disputes surround<strong>in</strong>g<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the different EU Member<br />

States are creat<strong>in</strong>g the need for clear<br />

regulatory solutions.<br />

In his op<strong>in</strong>ion <strong>in</strong> the Placanica case, the<br />

Advocate General mentioned that the<br />

Member States did already miss several<br />

opportunities to regulate gambl<strong>in</strong>g services<br />

at EU level. Although the comment<br />

was surpris<strong>in</strong>g and unfair, consider<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the <strong>in</strong>adequacy of the solutions proposed<br />

by the Commission, it shows that the<br />

Court is not will<strong>in</strong>g to become the f<strong>in</strong>al<br />

arbitrator <strong>in</strong> what is becom<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly<br />

difficult political problem. The<br />

number of <strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>gement cases, who are<br />

highly controversial, do even more prove<br />

that this is no longer a pure legal dispute,<br />

but rather a political problem.<br />

Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g this, one has to admit<br />

that the <strong>Europe</strong>an Court has acted <strong>in</strong> this<br />

area with great respect for the sensitivities<br />

and problems at stake. The Court,<br />

as always, took up its own responsibility<br />

as far as the Court could go and did substantially<br />

contribute to create conditions<br />

allow<strong>in</strong>g the Member States to understand<br />

what is possible with<strong>in</strong> the actual<br />

context of the Treaty. From Sch<strong>in</strong>dler<br />

to Placanica the Court has designed the<br />

legal framework for gambl<strong>in</strong>g services<br />

under the Treaty and the limits thereof.<br />

19<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

Summarized the <strong>Europe</strong>an Court does accept<br />

that gambl<strong>in</strong>g services are economic<br />

activities of “a particular nature” whereby<br />

it is perfectly acceptable for States to<br />

ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> and <strong>in</strong>troduce (new) restrictions<br />

for reasons of public order or to prevent<br />

the social risks of addiction. States are<br />

permitted to channel the gambl<strong>in</strong>g desire<br />

towards restricted and controlled operators<br />

offer<strong>in</strong>g only such games which the<br />

concerned State considers morally, politically<br />

and legally acceptable. Such offer<br />

of games may expand <strong>in</strong>to new areas<br />

and use new formats if necessary for the<br />

implementation of an effective and efficient<br />

policy and use several market<strong>in</strong>g<br />

methods. States have a great discretion <strong>in</strong><br />

choos<strong>in</strong>g their own model <strong>in</strong>dependently<br />

from other states, whether it is a monopoly<br />

or a licens<strong>in</strong>g model.<br />

The <strong>Europe</strong>an Union Treaty as such does<br />

<strong>in</strong>deed not provide for full answers to the<br />

complexity of the gambl<strong>in</strong>g issues and<br />

the Court understands this. The recent<br />

Ligua Portuguesa de Futebol <strong>in</strong>ternet<br />

gambl<strong>in</strong>g case did show how far reach<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the difficulties are. None of the Member<br />

States present, and there were many<br />

<strong>in</strong>terven<strong>in</strong>g, nor the Commission does<br />

want the gambl<strong>in</strong>g market to be driven<br />

by market forces.<br />

The op<strong>in</strong>ion given by the Advocate<br />

General BOT to the <strong>Europe</strong>an Court <strong>in</strong><br />

this Portuguese case is relevant to understand<br />

the exact border l<strong>in</strong>e between<br />

what States can and cannot do.<br />

He argues that there is no obligation to<br />

apply market rules and competition law<br />

to gambl<strong>in</strong>g services as there is no additional<br />

benefit for the consumer from<br />

such a competitive environment. By do<strong>in</strong>g<br />

so, he reiterates the op<strong>in</strong>ion of AG<br />

Gulmann <strong>in</strong> the Sch<strong>in</strong>dler case.<br />

However, he makes it perfectly clear that<br />

the attitude of the States is crucial <strong>in</strong><br />

this regard. If the States do not operate<br />

their lotteries as normal economic enterprises<br />

and are not search<strong>in</strong>g to maximise<br />

profits, they can escape from the market<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. If the States operate lotteries<br />

as normal economic activities, competi-


tion law must apply. The l<strong>in</strong>e is clear , at<br />

least from a legal po<strong>in</strong>t of view, but not<br />

always easy to draw <strong>in</strong> practise.<br />

But the situation is albeit not resolved<br />

with this op<strong>in</strong>ion, the Court needs to<br />

rule. There is no date set yet for the rul<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

but we may believe that it will come<br />

before summer. What the Court will do<br />

afterwards is not clear neither. There<br />

are an important number of cases where<br />

written observations have been submitted<br />

and where at least some parties requested<br />

an oral hear<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

<br />

In 2008, the <strong>Europe</strong>an Member States understood<br />

that they were obliged to look<br />

altogether <strong>in</strong>to these questions and soon<br />

the world will understand that a broader<br />

reflection will be required if one wants<br />

to come to terms with onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

problems. Surpris<strong>in</strong>gly the Commission<br />

did not welcome this approach and refused<br />

to participate actively <strong>in</strong> the dialogue.<br />

Both the Council and the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

Parliament did call upon the Commission<br />

to make further studies and proposals as<br />

may be required or even “desirable” by<br />

the Member States. These word<strong>in</strong>gs reflect<br />

what is mentioned <strong>in</strong> article 208 EC<br />

and obliges the Commission, under the<br />

loyalty pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, to follow up on this. The<br />

Commission Services have over the years<br />

acquired a substantial knowledge of the<br />

problems and understand the sensitivities.<br />

The Commission’s participation <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>stitutional<br />

dialogue is <strong>in</strong>deed the only way<br />

to come to terms <strong>in</strong> this difficult area.<br />

Currently the Commissioner of Internal<br />

Market refused to enter <strong>in</strong>to the dialogue.<br />

He does not believe that there is<br />

a sufficient level play<strong>in</strong>g field for a proper<br />

regulatory environment and prefers<br />

therefore to cont<strong>in</strong>ue to apply the Treaty<br />

to gambl<strong>in</strong>g services. On the contrary he<br />

strongly believes that the pressure issued<br />

by the Commission through the different<br />

<strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>gement cases do produce more effective<br />

results. The fact that some Member<br />

States, like France, are propos<strong>in</strong>g<br />

changes to their laws is perceived by him<br />

as the sole result of its legal actions.<br />

20<br />

<br />

Follow<strong>in</strong>g a meet<strong>in</strong>g of the Government<br />

Agents to the <strong>Europe</strong>an Court on July 10,<br />

2007, <strong>in</strong> Brussels the Member States decided<br />

to start a dialogue on this matter.<br />

It took up until the French Presidency<br />

<strong>in</strong> the second half of 2008 before the idea<br />

was implemented through the “Services<br />

and Establishment Work<strong>in</strong>g Group” of the<br />

Council. Surpris<strong>in</strong>gly already dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

first meet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> July, the Commissioner on<br />

Internal Market denied even to participate<br />

<strong>in</strong> this dialogue with the Member States<br />

<strong>in</strong>stituted by the French Presidency.. The<br />

discussion although strongly focused on<br />

the problems of the onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g market,<br />

did cover all aspects of gambl<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

In December 2008, the Council of M<strong>in</strong>isters<br />

decided dur<strong>in</strong>g the competitiveness<br />

Council that they want to cont<strong>in</strong>ue the<br />

work of this Work<strong>in</strong>g Group. Most of them<br />

<strong>in</strong>sist upon the need to approach the questions<br />

with due regard for the subsidiarity<br />

pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, thereby emphasiz<strong>in</strong>g that only<br />

those problems need to be looked <strong>in</strong>to at<br />

EU or <strong>in</strong>ternational level that cannot be adequately<br />

resolved at national/state/regional<br />

level. The proposals made by several governments<br />

to amend their laws goes <strong>in</strong>to<br />

this direction. However an EU chapeau will<br />

be necessary to f<strong>in</strong>d legal certa<strong>in</strong>ty and answers<br />

to the essential transnational problems<br />

like enforcement, OC, …<br />

<br />

Also the <strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament wanted to<br />

contribute to a better solution. Indeed<br />

also the Parliament did <strong>in</strong>itially reject the<br />

proposed solutions of the Commission<br />

(Services Directive), but is aware that<br />

the Treaty as such does not provide the<br />

solution. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the debate on the White<br />

Paper on Sport, it became clear that the<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament acknowledges the<br />

important role and contribution of <strong>Lotteries</strong><br />

to the <strong>Europe</strong>an sport model based<br />

upon amateur and grass root sports.<br />

In the meantime, the <strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament<br />

did address the question of gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>in</strong> an own <strong>in</strong>itiative report, the so-called<br />

“Schaldemose report” which was adopted<br />

by an overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g majority of 544 MEPs<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st 36 and 66 abstentions. Prior to the<br />

vote an alternative motion tabled by the<br />

British Conservative MEPs Heaton-Harris<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

and Harbour was clearly rejected.<br />

Legal<br />

Although <strong>in</strong>itially the <strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament<br />

was consider<strong>in</strong>g to look <strong>in</strong>to the<br />

questions of the onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g market<br />

only, the Parliament took <strong>in</strong>to consideration<br />

all consumer related aspects as well<br />

as the public order elements of crime<br />

prevention. The report prepared by MEP<br />

Schaldemose provides the first serious<br />

and correct picture of the situation at the<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament level.<br />

As such the report provides for the second<br />

political signal to the Commission to<br />

f<strong>in</strong>d appropriate regulatory solutions with<br />

due respect for the subsidiarity pr<strong>in</strong>ciple.<br />

The report clearly rejects self regulatory<br />

codes of conduct as the basis for regulat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g sector as promoted<br />

by the remote gambl<strong>in</strong>g operators.<br />

II. Conclusions<br />

The <strong>in</strong>itiatives of the <strong>Europe</strong>an Council<br />

and the <strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament can only<br />

be welcomed and show how both <strong>in</strong>stitutions<br />

take up their political responsibility<br />

to f<strong>in</strong>d proper political and regulatory<br />

answers, if necessary under secondary<br />

EU law, someth<strong>in</strong>g that the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

Court could as such not do.<br />

Today it is clear that the Member<br />

States cannot alone provide all answers<br />

to regulate properly the gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

sector. There are currently<br />

several models go<strong>in</strong>g from total prohibition<br />

to licens<strong>in</strong>g, but also monopolies<br />

are strengthened. Each of these<br />

models has its own merits, but cannot<br />

tackle all transnational problems<br />

<strong>in</strong> relation to OC and enforcement.<br />

The pr<strong>in</strong>ciple of subsidiarity as outl<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Protocol of the Amsterdam<br />

Treaty does therefore require<br />

the <strong>Europe</strong>an Union to look for the<br />

essential cross border aspects of the<br />

problem. This is the challenge for the<br />

com<strong>in</strong>g period.


i Direct returns to Good Causes exclude <strong>in</strong>vestment<br />

returns on National <strong>Lottery</strong> balances –<br />

these are reported <strong>in</strong> May, follow<strong>in</strong>g end of the<br />

F<strong>in</strong>ancial Year.<br />

Camelot Underl<strong>in</strong>es Responsible Play<br />

Commitments With New Game Design Tool<br />

Responsible Play Measures Detailed <strong>in</strong> Camelot’s 2007/08 Corporate Responsibility Review<br />

National <strong>Lottery</strong> operator Camelot Group<br />

plc today released its Corporate Responsibility<br />

Review for 2007/08, <strong>in</strong> a year which<br />

saw the company meet and exceed challeng<strong>in</strong>g<br />

performance standards, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g:<br />

<br />

they were satisfied with their overall relationship<br />

with Camelot;<br />

<br />

purchas<strong>in</strong>g scheme to promote retailer vigilance<br />

aga<strong>in</strong>st underage players, saw 93%<br />

of retailers refus<strong>in</strong>g to sell a lottery ticket<br />

to a test purchaser on a first visit; and<br />

2 emissions of 36%,<br />

and an <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the proportion of waste<br />

recycled, up to 72%.<br />

This year Camelot has aga<strong>in</strong> been recognised<br />

for the highest standards of corporate<br />

responsibility, with separate awards<br />

from both the World <strong>Lottery</strong> Association<br />

(w<strong>in</strong>ner, Best Report<strong>in</strong>g) and Bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong><br />

the Community (highly commended, Responsible<br />

Market<strong>in</strong>g).<br />

Dianne Thompson, Chief Executive of<br />

Camelot Group plc, said: “I am very proud<br />

of our corporate responsibility achievements<br />

<strong>in</strong> what was a very busy year. They<br />

top a successful period <strong>in</strong> which we won<br />

the licence to operate The National <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

for a further 10 years, <strong>in</strong>creased total<br />

sales to £4,996.3 million and delivered<br />

a further £1,351.8 million i to the Good<br />

Causes – br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g the total now raised to<br />

over £22 billion. On top of this, we have<br />

been work<strong>in</strong>g very closely with all of our<br />

stakeholders on the ongo<strong>in</strong>g process of<br />

transition to make sure that the lottery is<br />

<strong>in</strong> the best possible shape for the start of<br />

the new licence <strong>in</strong> February 2009.<br />

“We have a proven track record of corporate<br />

responsibility – but we will not be<br />

rest<strong>in</strong>g on our laurels. We will be look<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to make further improvements <strong>in</strong> all areas<br />

of our corporate responsibility work<br />

to make sure that National <strong>Lottery</strong> sales<br />

cont<strong>in</strong>ue to grow <strong>in</strong> a socially responsible<br />

way – and that even more money is raised<br />

for the Good Causes.”<br />

Highlight<strong>in</strong>g the company’s strong commitment<br />

to corporate responsibility and<br />

responsible play, Camelot and The Inter-<br />

21<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

national Gam<strong>in</strong>g Research Unit at Nott<strong>in</strong>gham<br />

Trent University have launched<br />

a pioneer<strong>in</strong>g new game assessment tool,<br />

designed to ensure that all lottery games<br />

meet very high standards of corporate responsibility<br />

prior to launch.<br />

Camelot is the first lottery <strong>in</strong> the world to<br />

implement GAM-GaRD (Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Assessment<br />

Measure – Guidance about Responsible<br />

Design), which assesses specific characteristics<br />

of all National <strong>Lottery</strong> games.<br />

The new tool is the latest <strong>in</strong>novative player<br />

protection <strong>in</strong>itiative to be <strong>in</strong>troduced by<br />

the UK lottery operator, which is <strong>in</strong>ternationally<br />

recognised as lead<strong>in</strong>g the way<br />

when it comes to socially responsible play.<br />

Camelot commissioned lead<strong>in</strong>g gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

experts at Nott<strong>in</strong>gham Trent University,<br />

together with an <strong>in</strong>ternational panel of researchers<br />

and cl<strong>in</strong>icians, to develop the new<br />

GAM-GaRD tool. Used dur<strong>in</strong>g the game<br />

design process, GAM-GaRD is designed to<br />

protect players by exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the basic design<br />

and features of a game, as well as other<br />

factors which may lead people to play.<br />

A score is then generated us<strong>in</strong>g a ‘traffic<br />

light’ system to rate games with a high,<br />

medium or low risk. This enables Camelot’s<br />

product development team to identify<br />

potential game design modifications<br />

before development beg<strong>in</strong>s and <strong>in</strong> turn<br />

make sure its games achieve excellence <strong>in</strong><br />

corporate responsibility standards.<br />

Promot<strong>in</strong>g responsible play and the benefits<br />

for both players and bus<strong>in</strong>esses rema<strong>in</strong><br />

central to Camelot’s commitments<br />

<strong>in</strong> the area of corporate responsibility.<br />

As well as the unique GAM-GaRD tool,<br />

Camelot cont<strong>in</strong>ues to see excellent results<br />

with its unique Operation Child <strong>in</strong>itiative,<br />

and operates a range of safeguards for the<br />

digital channels it offers to customers.<br />

Professor of Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Studies at Nott<strong>in</strong>gham<br />

Trent University, Dr Mark<br />

Griffiths, who co-developed GAM-GaRD<br />

said: “GAM-GaRD represents the very<br />

latest expertise <strong>in</strong> game design risk assessment,<br />

and uses this to clearly and<br />

correctly measure potential risk factors,<br />

ultimately to the benefit of consumers.


We see opportunity.<br />

Today’s global economic pressures have generated <strong>in</strong>credible bus<strong>in</strong>ess challenges.<br />

In this climate, we see opportunity. Opportunity to accept, seize and manage<br />

change—to be more competitive <strong>in</strong> the enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong>dustry…and to grow lottery<br />

sales from retail expansion, to implement<strong>in</strong>g best practices, to new media games,<br />

to excit<strong>in</strong>g new bus<strong>in</strong>ess models. We see opportunity everywhere…but more importantly,<br />

we see it for our customers.<br />

Partner<strong>in</strong>g with lotteries…for good causes.<br />

GTECH ® is an advocate of socially responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g. Our bus<strong>in</strong>ess solutions empower customers to develop parameters and practices, appropriate<br />

to their needs, that become the foundation of their responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g programs.<br />

22<br />

P AN RAMA


“GAM-GaRD is also available to the lottery<br />

sector and gambl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustry under<br />

licence; so far it has already been applied<br />

by companies and regulators, enabl<strong>in</strong>g other<br />

lotteries and companies to benefit from<br />

this ground-break<strong>in</strong>g tool. We commend<br />

Camelot’s forward-th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g approach, and<br />

hope that other lotteries follow suit.”<br />

ii <strong>in</strong> use s<strong>in</strong>ce 2001<br />

Geoffrey Godbold, Chief Executive of Gam-<br />

Care, the lead<strong>in</strong>g authority on the provision<br />

of counsell<strong>in</strong>g, advice and practical help <strong>in</strong><br />

address<strong>in</strong>g the social impact of gambl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />

the UK, said: “Camelot cont<strong>in</strong>ues to demonstrate<br />

a will<strong>in</strong>gness to improve on its<br />

already robust procedures. I am confident<br />

that GAM-GaRD will be a very effective addition<br />

to the extensive range of measures<br />

that are already successfully <strong>in</strong> place to<br />

protect vulnerable players.”<br />

Anne Pattberg, Corporate Responsibility<br />

Manager at Camelot, said: “Camelot<br />

is already <strong>in</strong>ternationally-recognised as<br />

lead<strong>in</strong>g the way when it comes to promot<strong>in</strong>g<br />

socially responsible play. We take our<br />

responsibilities towards players seriously<br />

and go beyond our regulatory requirements<br />

<strong>in</strong> sett<strong>in</strong>g and ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the highest<br />

standards of player protection <strong>in</strong> the<br />

UK, as well as <strong>in</strong> the lottery sector worldwide.<br />

“We are now actively us<strong>in</strong>g GAM-GaRD<br />

to assess all new games planned for the<br />

third lottery licence and will review its effectiveness<br />

on an ongo<strong>in</strong>g basis.<br />

“We are also very pleased that GAM-GaRD<br />

is be<strong>in</strong>g applied by other lottery and gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

organisations worldwide. We have<br />

worked to encourage other lotteries to<br />

follow our example and have been striv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

to develop global standards on player<br />

protection, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g lead<strong>in</strong>g the development<br />

of a global Responsible Gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Framework through the World <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

Association (WLA), and <strong>Europe</strong>an Responsible<br />

Gam<strong>in</strong>g Standards through the<br />

<strong>Europe</strong>an <strong>Lotteries</strong> (EL).”<br />

GAM-GaRD is used <strong>in</strong> the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />

stages of a game’s design process, and<br />

alongside Camelot’s own exist<strong>in</strong>g tool, the<br />

Game Design Protocol ii .<br />

For further <strong>in</strong>formation, please contact<br />

Lisa Hancox, Corporate PR Manager:<br />

020 7632 5716<br />

Camelot Press Office: 020 7632 5711<br />

23<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

<br />

erator<br />

of The National <strong>Lottery</strong>® and<br />

is committed to rais<strong>in</strong>g money for the<br />

Good Causes designated by Parliament.<br />

Camelot is not responsible for distribut<strong>in</strong>g<br />

or award<strong>in</strong>g these funds.<br />

<br />

raised for the Good Causes by The National<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong>, and more than 300,000 <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />

awards have been made across<br />

the UK – the biggest programme of civic<br />

and social regeneration s<strong>in</strong>ce the 19th<br />

Century. The National <strong>Lottery</strong> has given<br />

away over £33 billion <strong>in</strong> prizes and created<br />

more than 2,200 millionaires or multimillionaires<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce launch <strong>in</strong> 1994.<br />

cient<br />

lotteries <strong>in</strong> the world, with around<br />

5% of total revenue taken <strong>in</strong> operat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

costs. At 40% of total sales (28% to the<br />

Good Causes and 12% <strong>in</strong> lottery duty<br />

to the Government), Camelot returns<br />

a higher proportion of lottery revenue<br />

back to society than any other lottery<br />

operator <strong>in</strong> the world. National <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

retailers receive 5% of total revenue <strong>in</strong><br />

commission, and 50% of sales is paid out<br />

to players <strong>in</strong> prizes.<br />

<br />

standards <strong>in</strong> player protection and social<br />

responsibility <strong>in</strong> both the retail and<br />

<strong>in</strong>teractive environments. The National<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> website, Sky Active and Play By<br />

Text services have been accredited by<br />

GamCare, the UK’s national centre for<br />

<strong>in</strong>formation, advice and practical help<br />

regard<strong>in</strong>g the social impact of gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

– while Camelot’s approach to game<br />

design, test purchas<strong>in</strong>g and retailer<br />

vigilance campaigns ensures player protection<br />

at retail. Camelot is ranked first<br />

<strong>in</strong> the leisure sector <strong>in</strong> Bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> the<br />

Community’s 2007 Social Responsibility<br />

Index.<br />

<br />

The National <strong>Lottery</strong> and its games,<br />

please visit the follow<strong>in</strong>g websites: www.<br />

camelotgroup.co.uk and www.nationallottery.co.uk.<br />

<br />

must be aged 16 or over.<br />

tered<br />

trademark of the National <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

Commission.


Spa<strong>in</strong><br />

24<br />

Imag<strong>in</strong>ation at the Po<strong>in</strong>t of Sale:<br />

The success of Canal LAE <strong>in</strong> Spa<strong>in</strong><br />

Gambl<strong>in</strong>g and sports bett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Spa<strong>in</strong> are<br />

one of the major components of the Gross<br />

Domestic Product, represent<strong>in</strong>g approximately<br />

4% of total GDP. The market share<br />

of Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (LAE)<br />

exceeds 33% and, on a weekly basis, 17<br />

million customers (more than 30% of the<br />

population) purchase one of the products<br />

marketed through LAE’s 10,790 po<strong>in</strong>ts of<br />

sale throughout the national territory, of<br />

which 4.089 sell only our «products».<br />

Innovation and imag<strong>in</strong>ation are essential<br />

elements <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>dustry as traditional<br />

as ours, which is why LAE launched the<br />

project to renovate the technology of its<br />

outlets. Tak<strong>in</strong>g advantage of new technological<br />

developments <strong>in</strong> the field of “Digital<br />

Signage” and the undoubted skills of the<br />

company Sistemas Técnicos de Loterías<br />

(STL), LAE has established the largest dynamic<br />

market<strong>in</strong>g network <strong>in</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>.<br />

In a first phase of the configuration of<br />

the new Canal LAE, versatile television<br />

screens were <strong>in</strong>stalled <strong>in</strong> 4,500 outlets that<br />

account for 75% of total sales. The screens<br />

are connected to STL us<strong>in</strong>g IP l<strong>in</strong>es and<br />

measure 42 <strong>in</strong>ches, caus<strong>in</strong>g a high visual<br />

impact. They not only <strong>in</strong>troduce images,<br />

motion and colour <strong>in</strong> the outlet, with all of<br />

the advantages of television, outdoor advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and advertis<strong>in</strong>g on the spot, they<br />

also allow a system of provid<strong>in</strong>g and display<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>in</strong>formation to its target audience<br />

with greater speed, reliability and attractiveness.<br />

The screen can be divided <strong>in</strong>to<br />

several quadrants <strong>in</strong> order to communicate<br />

different messages <strong>in</strong> short periods of time.<br />

Furthermore, <strong>in</strong>formation dissem<strong>in</strong>ated<br />

through the Canal LAE can be diversified<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

Members’ News<br />

and focus one or more specific areas, cities<br />

or districts, etc., allow<strong>in</strong>g localised schedul<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Information content concerns either<br />

the management of LAE games or third<br />

party advertis<strong>in</strong>g. In commercial terms,<br />

the awareness of Canal LAE is established.<br />

Effectively, each one of the outlets connected<br />

is visited by approximately 4,000<br />

customers per week, so a notice displayed<br />

<strong>in</strong> the 4,500 establishments connected to<br />

the channel can reach a weekly average<br />

of 17 million people. The <strong>in</strong>come from the<br />

outdoor ads substantially helps cover the<br />

costs of the system<br />

In the field of environmental protection,<br />

the importance of Canal LAE is also a w<strong>in</strong>ner<br />

as it goes beyond the traditional display<br />

method of posters, which entails an enormous<br />

consumption of paper, <strong>in</strong>ks, plastics<br />

and other materials, some of which do not<br />

support recycl<strong>in</strong>g and are clearly harmful<br />

to the environment.<br />

This <strong>in</strong>novation, which is entirely managed<br />

by the staff of LAE, can provide significant<br />

commercial benefits to all lottery organizations<br />

that choose to adopt it. Representatives<br />

of LAE presented the system at the EL/<br />

WLA Market<strong>in</strong>g Sem<strong>in</strong>ar, which took place <strong>in</strong><br />

London on January 28 to 30, arous<strong>in</strong>g great<br />

<strong>in</strong>terest. We believe that knowledge of this<br />

imag<strong>in</strong>ative approach may result <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>terest<br />

of all Members and we have therefore<br />

requested to have some time reserved dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

our next Congress <strong>in</strong> Istanbul for LAE<br />

to publicize the specific characteristics and<br />

benefits of the channel <strong>in</strong> greater depth.<br />

Gonzalo Fernández Rodríguez<br />

General Director LAE


Members’ News<br />

Meta Persdotter CEO<br />

Sweden<br />

In issue no 28 it was <strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>in</strong> the<br />

<strong>in</strong>terview with Mrs W<strong>in</strong>berg, Chair<br />

Svenska Spel, that a new gam<strong>in</strong>g legislation<br />

would be proposed <strong>in</strong> Sweden.<br />

Here are the ma<strong>in</strong> ideas.<br />

Proposed new gam<strong>in</strong>g legislation <strong>in</strong> Sweden<br />

In the last 10 years there have been quite a<br />

few reports and proposals to change the <strong>in</strong>sufficient<br />

and unsatisfactory gam<strong>in</strong>g legislation<br />

<strong>in</strong> Sweden, partly due to the fast development<br />

of new technology, partly due to the<br />

criticism from EU officials for the obstacles<br />

for an open lottery market.<br />

The new report handed over to the Swedish<br />

government on December 15 therefore<br />

suggested two ma<strong>in</strong> solutions for the future.<br />

EITHER to keep the present legislation but<br />

exercise a tougher control of illegal gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

OR to make some changes <strong>in</strong> order to make<br />

it possible for new, private operators to get<br />

a license for parts of the gam<strong>in</strong>g market and<br />

to establish a new authority to supervise it.<br />

The report recommended the latter.<br />

Follow<strong>in</strong>g the recommendations:-<br />

- The state will still keep a monopoly on<br />

games of high risks for addiction, thus lett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Svenska Spel cont<strong>in</strong>ue to operate its 4<br />

cas<strong>in</strong>os and the 7 500 VLTs <strong>in</strong> bars and restaurants<br />

- Internet bett<strong>in</strong>g will be restricted to Svenska<br />

Spel, the state-controlled horse-bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

foundation ATG and sports bett<strong>in</strong>g operators<br />

with a Swedish license<br />

- Charities and NGOs will be allowed to<br />

offer lotteries and scratch tickets and run<br />

b<strong>in</strong>go halls<br />

- Svenska Spel will keep numbers games<br />

and scratch tickets but will have to give up<br />

sports bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

- Private operators can get a license to offer<br />

book mak<strong>in</strong>g and other sports bett<strong>in</strong>g<br />

but have to be registered <strong>in</strong> Sweden, obey<br />

to Swedish gam<strong>in</strong>g legislation and pay taxes<br />

<strong>in</strong> Sweden. No gam<strong>in</strong>g transactions to accounts<br />

abroad. Taxes will also be imposed<br />

25<br />

The new CEO of Svenska Spel , Mrs Meta Persdotter, who took up office <strong>in</strong> February will<br />

however fight for these games, s<strong>in</strong>ce she believes that sports bett<strong>in</strong>g is very much the core<br />

bus<strong>in</strong>ess of the company and that the l<strong>in</strong>ks with the sports bodies have been so many, so<br />

strong and so beneficiary over the years. She also sees a risk that many retailers <strong>in</strong> sparselypopulated<br />

areas where Svenska Spel has a responsibility to offer its services even it is not<br />

highly profitable, will have to cease sell<strong>in</strong>g lottery products if other operators are to take over.<br />

Mrs Persdotter, a keen sportswoman herself, had her ma<strong>in</strong> tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and bus<strong>in</strong>ess experience<br />

at IKEA. Her ma<strong>in</strong> concern therefore is the contact and dialogue with the customers, be that<br />

the lottery ticket buyers, be it the retailers, be it the cas<strong>in</strong>o visitors.<br />

Her ma<strong>in</strong> job just now however is to word the Svenska Spel reaction to the proposed changes.<br />

There has been very little debate so far <strong>in</strong> Sweden on the changes although media and politicians<br />

<strong>in</strong> general seem to support the idea of lett<strong>in</strong>g private operators <strong>in</strong>. These on the other<br />

hand have fiercely objected to the proposed restrictions for them and will not accept the<br />

conclusions of the report. The NGOs will certa<strong>in</strong>ly also object to not be<strong>in</strong>g permitted to offer<br />

their games over the Internet.<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

on Svenska Spel and ATG<br />

- A new gam<strong>in</strong>g board, called<br />

Spelmarknads<strong>in</strong>spektionen, will be established<br />

that will take over from the present<br />

Lotteri<strong>in</strong>spektionen but also be responsible<br />

for all licenses and all supervision of retailers<br />

and market<strong>in</strong>g<br />

- For all games except cas<strong>in</strong>os there will be<br />

an age limit of 18 years. To visit the cas<strong>in</strong>os<br />

you still have to be 20.<br />

Today Swedish sports federations and committees<br />

receive about 2/3 of their grants<br />

from Svenska Spel and ATG. In another report<br />

published end of February the government<br />

proposes ‘to put a stop to this system<br />

and replace it by a fixed sum, subject to a<br />

means test annually, from the state budget,<br />

thus mak<strong>in</strong>g sports <strong>in</strong>come <strong>in</strong>dependent of<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g revenue. This elim<strong>in</strong>ates one of the<br />

strong arguments for Svenska Spel to keep<br />

Oddset and Tipset.<br />

On March 31 all reactions to the report<br />

must be at the M<strong>in</strong>istry of F<strong>in</strong>ance which<br />

will then put a f<strong>in</strong>al bill together to present<br />

to Parliament probably already this spr<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Göran Wessberg<br />

Senior Advisor to Svenska Spel


Torbjørn Almlid CEO<br />

Torbjørn Almlid, Ph.D. assumed the post as<br />

Chief Executive Officer of Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g AS<br />

(The Norwegian National <strong>Lottery</strong>) on January<br />

1 2009. Almlid is 59. He is a qualified<br />

veter<strong>in</strong>arian, has worked as a researcher<br />

and holds a Doctorate <strong>in</strong> genetic illnesses.<br />

He has previously held the posts as Manag-<br />

Gheorghe Benea CEO<br />

26<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

Members’ News<br />

Norway Torbjørn Almlid new CEO OF Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g AS<br />

Romania<br />

<strong>in</strong>g Director of Norsv<strong>in</strong> (a pig breed<strong>in</strong>g company)<br />

for 10 years and Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director of<br />

the <strong>in</strong>novation company BioInn (a bio-<strong>in</strong>novation<br />

company) for one year before chang<strong>in</strong>g<br />

branches <strong>in</strong> 1999. He then accepted<br />

the post as Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director of Feir<strong>in</strong>gkl<strong>in</strong>ikken<br />

AS (The Feir<strong>in</strong>g Cl<strong>in</strong>ic Ltd). He<br />

was later appo<strong>in</strong>ted Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director of<br />

Helse Øst (Health Region East), until he<br />

took up the position as Chief Executive Officer<br />

of Sykehuset Innlandet (The Innlandet<br />

Hospital Trust) <strong>in</strong> 2003.<br />

Mr. Almlid has ambitious objectives for<br />

Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g AS; “I f<strong>in</strong>d the <strong>in</strong>tricate relationship<br />

between politics, technology and<br />

the marked to be both an <strong>in</strong>trigu<strong>in</strong>g and a<br />

challeng<strong>in</strong>g managerial task. Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g<br />

builds its operations on technically<br />

advanced solutions and we need attractive<br />

products to offer our customers. With <strong>in</strong>creased<br />

attention put on problem gam<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Gheorghe Benea,<br />

new CEO of the Romanian National <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

S<strong>in</strong>ce February 16, 2009, Mr. Gheorghe Benea<br />

is the new CEO of Compania Nationala<br />

‘Loteria Romana’ S.A.<br />

Qualified eng<strong>in</strong>eer, graduated from the Faculty<br />

of Chemical Technology/Iasi, Department<br />

of Pulp, Paper and Fibers (1979), he<br />

took out two patents: The Method for enzymatic<br />

pulp bleach<strong>in</strong>g and fix<strong>in</strong>g the plastic<br />

stra<strong>in</strong>er on the plastic rotary cell filters.<br />

Once his studies completed <strong>in</strong> 1990, he became<br />

mayor of the town of Dej, where he<br />

developed his management skills, specializ<strong>in</strong>g<br />

at the same time at the German Management<br />

Academy, <strong>in</strong> Celle, Niedersachsen/<br />

Germany (1993) and at the Management<br />

and Market Economy Institute at Yakko<br />

Poyry/F<strong>in</strong>land (1996).<br />

The substantial knowledge and experienced<br />

acquired allowed him, from 1983 up to now,<br />

to hold positions as President and/or General<br />

Director of several companies such as Pulp<br />

and Paper Plant <strong>in</strong> Dej, subsequently turned<br />

this is a challeng<strong>in</strong>g task that is very motivational”,<br />

says Almlid.<br />

Dur<strong>in</strong>g Almlids’ short tenure at Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

the company has amongst other<br />

th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong>troduced 100 percent registered<br />

play for all games except scratch-tickets.<br />

Further, the company is <strong>in</strong> the midst of roll<strong>in</strong>g<br />

out a new generation gam<strong>in</strong>g mach<strong>in</strong>es,<br />

where the comb<strong>in</strong>ation of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment<br />

and responsible gam<strong>in</strong>g has been taken one<br />

step further. “I want Norsk Tipp<strong>in</strong>g to be<br />

an open and transparent company and we<br />

must show that our games are enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

and foster m<strong>in</strong>imal problems related to<br />

problem gam<strong>in</strong>g”, says Almlid, and adds “it<br />

is vital that we focus on <strong>in</strong>novation and renewal<br />

<strong>in</strong> the time ahead. Development of<br />

responsible and attractive games, especially<br />

on the <strong>in</strong>ternet, will be a priority for Norsk<br />

Tipp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the time to come”, says Almlid.<br />

<strong>in</strong>to “Somes” S.A. Dej, S.C. Pehart Tec S.A.<br />

Petresti, “Remarul 16 Februarie”and “Metalurgica<br />

Transilvania Aiud S.A.<br />

His ma<strong>in</strong> objectives for Loteria Romana are<br />

to form a dedicated team, to create good<br />

work<strong>in</strong>g conditions and to develop the company’s<br />

<strong>in</strong>fluence. He also wishes to <strong>in</strong>crease<br />

the productivity and expand the sales network<br />

by implement<strong>in</strong>g new distribution<br />

channels (hypermarkets, gas stations, hotels,<br />

etc.), and diversify<strong>in</strong>g the product l<strong>in</strong>e.<br />

He will pay a special attention to how the<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> brand is highlighted, especially <strong>in</strong><br />

the po<strong>in</strong>ts of sale as, as he says: “They are<br />

our guest houses and can tell a lot about<br />

how diligent we are and, to enhance our image,<br />

we will <strong>in</strong>crease the circulation of the<br />

magaz<strong>in</strong>e Lotto Prono, the ma<strong>in</strong> source of<br />

<strong>in</strong>formation for players”.<br />

Gheoghe Benea also wishes to establish<br />

fruitful collaborations with the EL Members<br />

and will support all EL activities.


Premium<br />

Six Sigma<br />

A contract with the GTECH Corporation<br />

comes with many benefits- and some<br />

highly tra<strong>in</strong>ed Black Belts. And while they<br />

won’t be us<strong>in</strong>g karate skills to fight off<br />

your nemeses, they will be us<strong>in</strong>g the “Six<br />

Sigma” quality improvement ideology to<br />

ensure that the customer is the recipient<br />

of the most efficient technology solutions<br />

the gam<strong>in</strong>g world has to offer.<br />

Orig<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong> 1986 by Motorola, Six Sigma<br />

was formulated as a set of practices designed<br />

to improve manufactur<strong>in</strong>g on the “shop”<br />

floor and elim<strong>in</strong>ate defects. Its application<br />

was eventually extended to other types of<br />

bus<strong>in</strong>ess processes to achieve a higher level<br />

of quality to reduce waste and enhance work<br />

flow. The term Six Sigma stems from the<br />

idea that if one has six standard deviations<br />

between the mean of a process and the nearest<br />

specification limit, there will be practically<br />

no items that fail to meet the specifications.<br />

Borrow<strong>in</strong>g rank<strong>in</strong>g term<strong>in</strong>ology used<br />

by the martial arts, the hierarchy bestows<br />

labels such as Black or Green Belt.<br />

At GTECH, utiliz<strong>in</strong>g Six Sigma practices<br />

as it perta<strong>in</strong>s to gam<strong>in</strong>g is an <strong>in</strong>dustry first<br />

and only. The endeavor, led by GTECH’s<br />

Vice President of Global Technology Solutions<br />

Matthew Whalen, has successfully<br />

tra<strong>in</strong>ed over 100 GTECH employees<br />

<strong>in</strong> the venture to elim<strong>in</strong>ate wasteful resources<br />

for the end-customer <strong>in</strong> an effort<br />

to operate at peak performance us<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

methodology of “Six Sigma Lean.” The<br />

practice of Lean is one which attempts to<br />

27<br />

P<br />

AN RAMA<br />

add value to form or function to create an<br />

immediate improvement, generally with<br />

results <strong>in</strong> less than 90 days.<br />

The results are proven. For example, dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

bus<strong>in</strong>ess meet<strong>in</strong>gs between GTECH<br />

and Veikkaus Oy, operator of the F<strong>in</strong>nish<br />

National <strong>Lottery</strong>, our customer was so impressed<br />

by GTECH’s commitment to the<br />

Six Sigma Lean practices that they asked<br />

GTECH Black Belt’s to come aboard to<br />

help them improve efficiency of software<br />

deliveries. Lead by local GTECH F<strong>in</strong>land<br />

leaders and supported by GTECH’s Process<br />

Eng<strong>in</strong>eer and Black Belt, James Bois,<br />

the outcome resulted <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased velocity<br />

of current improvement <strong>in</strong>itiatives and<br />

solid action plans for future improvement<br />

areas.<br />

Ensur<strong>in</strong>g that the customer receives the<br />

most successful product <strong>in</strong> all venues of<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g is why GTECH leads the <strong>in</strong>dustry,<br />

and as for the future of Six Sigma practices,<br />

Whalen says, “By focus<strong>in</strong>g on cont<strong>in</strong>ual<br />

measurable and quantifiable goals, we<br />

are able to deliver software and services<br />

to our customers <strong>in</strong> a more standardized<br />

way while ensur<strong>in</strong>g superior quality.”


As the global economic crisis worsens,<br />

sales at some lotteries have begun to flatten,<br />

which has brought <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g pressure<br />

on these organizations to f<strong>in</strong>d ways<br />

to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> and grow revenue for their<br />

good causes. While the ebb and flow of<br />

onl<strong>in</strong>e term<strong>in</strong>al-generated game sales are<br />

<strong>in</strong>extricably l<strong>in</strong>ked to the size of the jackpot<br />

– and thus are largely beyond a lottery’s<br />

ability to effect <strong>in</strong>creases through<br />

market<strong>in</strong>g – <strong>in</strong>stant sales have proven<br />

otherwise. Indeed, their impulsive nature<br />

makes them much more sensitive to market<strong>in</strong>g<br />

and an ideal product for help<strong>in</strong>g<br />

lotteries stabilize their sales dur<strong>in</strong>g this<br />

pa<strong>in</strong>ful economic chapter <strong>in</strong> world history.<br />

Over the years, rais<strong>in</strong>g the prize payout<br />

of games has been one of the more popular<br />

determ<strong>in</strong>ants of demand lotteries<br />

have deployed to help drive <strong>in</strong>stant sales.<br />

Similarly, licensed games have proven to be<br />

an effective vehicle for <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

sales and revenues, yet lotteries are known<br />

to shy away from them due to the high licens<strong>in</strong>g<br />

fees required to secure a powerhouse<br />

brand. The MDI Merchandise Model<br />

was developed <strong>in</strong> response to this bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />

reality. Today, this creative bus<strong>in</strong>ess model<br />

gives lotteries the world over:<br />

<br />

so-called “powerhouse brands” on their<br />

tickets with no impact on the lottery’s ROI<br />

(return on <strong>in</strong>vestment);<br />

<br />

stretch their market<strong>in</strong>g and promotions<br />

budget by extend<strong>in</strong>g the brand life and<br />

the lottery’s goodwill for a much longer<br />

period of time compared to a traditional<br />

advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaign.<br />

<br />

that channels new players to the lottery.<br />

<br />

As previously stated, lotteries have not had<br />

the budget to pay the high licens<strong>in</strong>g fees<br />

required to secure a powerhouse brand,<br />

and, thus, have been unable to <strong>in</strong>corporate<br />

them <strong>in</strong>to their market<strong>in</strong>g mix. The MDI<br />

Merchandise Model offers lotteries a creative<br />

solution to hurdle this barrier to entry.<br />

Very simply, it allows a lottery to allocate a<br />

percentage of a licensed-game prize structure<br />

to unique, high quality branded prizes.<br />

28 27<br />

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Merchandise <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Lottery</strong> Industry<br />

The new model for licensed games<br />

<strong>Lotteries</strong> purchase the brand merchandise<br />

from MDI and, <strong>in</strong> turn, <strong>in</strong>corporate the<br />

merchandise as prizes with<strong>in</strong> the prize<br />

structure. MDI pays the licens<strong>in</strong>g fees.<br />

<strong>Lotteries</strong> utiliz<strong>in</strong>g the MDI Merchandise<br />

Model have quickly discovered its benefits.<br />

For starters, the unique merchandise prizes<br />

attract new players. Second, licensed-game<br />

players often f<strong>in</strong>d themselves w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g prizes<br />

they could never w<strong>in</strong> through any other<br />

consumer-goods experience; that is, they<br />

have an opportunity to w<strong>in</strong> that once-<strong>in</strong>-alifetime<br />

prize “money simply cannot buy.”<br />

Compared to w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g cash, these merchandise<br />

prizes leave a longer last<strong>in</strong>g, more positive<br />

impression with players. They also extend<br />

the lottery advertis<strong>in</strong>g’s effectiveness<br />

by cast<strong>in</strong>g a positive halo over the entire<br />

product l<strong>in</strong>e. Indeed, the positive impressions<br />

and emotions associated with a brand<br />

often carry over to the lottery itself, generat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

momentum for all products.<br />

The merchandise establishes a deep sense<br />

of loyalty and nostalgia among players<br />

because the prizes represent someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />

they can keep forever. In the past n<strong>in</strong>e<br />

years, sales trends have shown licensed<br />

games to be among the lead<strong>in</strong>g contributors<br />

to the <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>stant sales <strong>in</strong><br />

North America.<br />

<br />

MDI has worked to develop unique merchandise<br />

for most of its global blockbuster<br />

brands, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Monopoly, Pac-man,<br />

Deal or No Deal, Jeopardy, Harley-Davidson,<br />

Indiana Jones, NHL and World Poker<br />

Tour. Below are two recent examples that<br />

have hit the <strong>Europe</strong>an market.<br />

<br />

<br />

Recently, 25 <strong>Lotteries</strong> around the world<br />

launched Indiana Jones tickets to co<strong>in</strong>cide<br />

with the movie launch. MDI <strong>in</strong>corpo-<br />

AN RAMA<br />

Premium<br />

rated and managed all aspects of the merchandise<br />

prizes for these games launched<br />

by lotteries <strong>in</strong> Estonia, Luxemburg, Belgium,<br />

Germany, Australia and USA.<br />

<br />

Szerencsejáték adopted the merchandise<br />

model for its World Poker Tour (WPT)<br />

tickets. No licens<strong>in</strong>g fee was required<br />

s<strong>in</strong>ce the <strong>Lottery</strong> allocated a percentage<br />

to merchandise prizes. MDI and WPT<br />

even provided World Poker shirts to sales<br />

representatives and retailers, and assisted<br />

the lottery <strong>in</strong> host<strong>in</strong>g a hugely successful<br />

tournament for members of the media and<br />

press. First-week sales were 25% higher<br />

than any previous game launched. Additionally,<br />

35% of non-w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g tickets sold<br />

dur<strong>in</strong>g the first weeks were turned <strong>in</strong> for a<br />

chance to w<strong>in</strong> merchandise.<br />

<br />

Campaign<br />

Licensed merchandise games offer lotteries<br />

a creative solution to offset decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

sales, plus provide an alternative advertis<strong>in</strong>g-promotions<br />

vehicle for reach<strong>in</strong>g players<br />

and mak<strong>in</strong>g an impression that is long<br />

last<strong>in</strong>g, residual and more positive compared<br />

to a traditional advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaign.<br />

It is true: Licensed branded games<br />

us<strong>in</strong>g MDI’s merchandise model are designed<br />

to accomplish the same goals lotteries<br />

strive to achieve through expensive<br />

market<strong>in</strong>g and advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaigns. In<br />

tough economic times, this model could<br />

be exactly what is needed.<br />

MDI<br />

MDI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific<br />

Games, was founded <strong>in</strong> 1986, and<br />

today is the world’s lead<strong>in</strong>g provider of<br />

enterta<strong>in</strong>ment-based licensed and branded<br />

lottery games. Of all branded games<br />

sold around the world, n<strong>in</strong>e of every 10<br />

are licensed through MDI. As the only<br />

full-service provider of <strong>Lottery</strong> promotions<br />

and games, MDI has more than 150<br />

market<strong>in</strong>g and licens<strong>in</strong>g partnerships, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />

some of the more prestigious and<br />

well-known companies <strong>in</strong> the world.


Premium<br />

In less than 17 years of com<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to existence,<br />

INTRALOT managed to establish<br />

its presence <strong>in</strong> 50 countries on all<br />

five cont<strong>in</strong>ents and become one of the<br />

lead<strong>in</strong>g companies <strong>in</strong> its sector. Due<br />

to the company’s <strong>Europe</strong>an orig<strong>in</strong>, the<br />

eastern and south-eastern parts of <strong>Europe</strong><br />

became one of the first fields for<br />

INTRALOT’s <strong>in</strong>ternational expansion.<br />

In its early stages, the company <strong>in</strong>vested<br />

<strong>in</strong> the neighbour<strong>in</strong>g markets of South-<br />

<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong> at a time when the potential<br />

of these markets was far from<br />

evident and the problems to be tackled<br />

were numerous. The management’s decision<br />

to undertake this challenge certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />

paid off s<strong>in</strong>ce INTRALOT soon became<br />

the lead<strong>in</strong>g technology provider for lotteries<br />

<strong>in</strong> the region, pav<strong>in</strong>g the way for a<br />

more attractive offer <strong>in</strong> the sector.<br />

The lotteries <strong>in</strong> South-<strong>Eastern</strong> and <strong>Eastern</strong><br />

<strong>Europe</strong> gave INTRALOT the opportunity<br />

to prove its strength to the world,<br />

while the lotteries themselves entered<br />

a whole new era of development as<br />

INTRALOT supplied services and products<br />

that were characterized by <strong>in</strong>no-<br />

The expert <strong>in</strong> eastern <strong>Europe</strong> <strong>Lottery</strong> market<br />

vation, effectiveness and technological<br />

excellence. The lotteries honoured the<br />

company with their last<strong>in</strong>g cooperation<br />

because they acknowledged INTRALOT’s<br />

s<strong>in</strong>cere commitment to address<strong>in</strong>g their<br />

goals and underly<strong>in</strong>g needs with tailored<br />

solutions. These long-last<strong>in</strong>g and mutually<br />

beneficial relationships have s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

become the company’s ”modus operandi”<br />

allow<strong>in</strong>g INTRALOT to ga<strong>in</strong> many more<br />

markets all around the globe.<br />

Currently, INTRALOT’s presence <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong><br />

<strong>Europe</strong> covers Romania, Bulgaria,<br />

Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey,<br />

Cyprus, Moldova, and Greece, offer<strong>in</strong>g<br />

games that range from number games to<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g and Video <strong>Lotteries</strong>.<br />

INTRALOT is also at present the lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Sports Bett<strong>in</strong>g operator <strong>in</strong> the world with<br />

a pivotal presence <strong>in</strong> the region. In particular,<br />

it has established itself <strong>in</strong> Greece<br />

(with its subsidiary “Bett<strong>in</strong>g Company”,<br />

which has been provid<strong>in</strong>g OPAP with<br />

operational services and support s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

2000); Bulgaria (where its affiliate Eurofootball,<br />

holds a very strong position<br />

<strong>in</strong> the market); Poland (where its sub-<br />

29<br />

P<br />

AN RAMA<br />

sidiary Totolotek is the lead<strong>in</strong>g sports<br />

bett<strong>in</strong>g operator <strong>in</strong> the country); Romania<br />

(where bett<strong>in</strong>g offered by the State<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> is provided by INTRALOT) and<br />

Turkey (where INTRALOT participates<br />

<strong>in</strong> the consortium INTELTEK, that operates<br />

the game Iddaa).<br />

INTRALOT also provides its operational<br />

and technological support and expertise<br />

to the All-Russian State <strong>Lottery</strong>,<br />

the Romanian State <strong>Lottery</strong> and Loteria<br />

Moldovei <strong>in</strong> Moldova. In Greece, the company<br />

is the ma<strong>in</strong> supplier of the two State<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g organizations, OPAP and ODIE.<br />

In addition, INTRALOT operates Video<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> networks <strong>in</strong> Serbia (through its<br />

subsidiary Yugobet); Slovakia, (where it<br />

is a majority shareholder <strong>in</strong> Slovenske<br />

Loterie); Poland (through its subsidiary<br />

Pollot) and Moldova (through Loteria<br />

Moldovei). As far as the company’s <strong>in</strong>stant<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g experience is concerned,<br />

INTRALOT was the majority shareholder<br />

and manager of the operat<strong>in</strong>g company<br />

of the Greek Instant Ticket for the full<br />

duration of its operation.<br />

The revenue of the gam<strong>in</strong>g market <strong>in</strong><br />

South <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong> is estimated at<br />

about e10 billion. The popularity of<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g (and especially sports bett<strong>in</strong>g)<br />

among a population of approximately<br />

380 million people, coupled by the recent<br />

entry of many countries <strong>in</strong>to the EU are<br />

the ma<strong>in</strong> factors that drive the grow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

demand for an attractive gam<strong>in</strong>g offer <strong>in</strong><br />

these countries.<br />

INTRALOT has lived hand-<strong>in</strong>-hand<br />

with the countries <strong>in</strong> the region, develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />

solutions and implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />

projects throughout their recent history.<br />

It is exactly this experience that allows<br />

INTRALOT to state with confidence that<br />

it has the “hands-on” expertise and regional<br />

know-how to successfully assist<br />

South-<strong>Eastern</strong> and <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Europe</strong> markets<br />

even further.


Workshops<br />

EL/WLA MARKETING SEMINAR<br />

NEW COLOURS FOR ADVERTISING<br />

London 28th to 30th January 2009<br />

“Many a small th<strong>in</strong>g has been made<br />

large by advertis<strong>in</strong>g”<br />

Mark Twa<strong>in</strong><br />

When came the time to decide on the title,<br />

which would <strong>in</strong>troduce the theme of<br />

the first jo<strong>in</strong>t WLA/EL sem<strong>in</strong>ar, a flurry of<br />

ideas was exchanged and came the notion<br />

of “colours”, which became “new colours”<br />

and f<strong>in</strong>ally “New colours for advertis<strong>in</strong>g”,<br />

after several exchanges that <strong>in</strong>cluded, by<br />

the way, the Impressionists, Monet, and a<br />

philosophical discussion on art and science.<br />

Thus, the title and its <strong>in</strong>tent: Advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is <strong>in</strong>deed both an art and a science. And<br />

as the f<strong>in</strong>e art of pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g is based on three<br />

primary colours that generate a myriad of<br />

impacts, an <strong>in</strong>f<strong>in</strong>ity of representations, so<br />

does Advertis<strong>in</strong>g. Out of some very basic<br />

concepts, advertis<strong>in</strong>g represents endless<br />

alternatives and cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>novations.<br />

And so, under this banner “New Colours<br />

for Advertis<strong>in</strong>g”, over 115 participants,<br />

represent<strong>in</strong>g some 50 organisations and<br />

corporations, assembled <strong>in</strong> London, Jan<br />

28 – 30 2009, to hear 25 experts from with<strong>in</strong><br />

and from without the <strong>Lottery</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />

share their views, expertise and experiences<br />

on the global world of advertis<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />

today’s environment of fragmented markets,<br />

diverse channels of communication<br />

and a loom<strong>in</strong>g severe economic crisis.<br />

These speakers, and the panels that followed,<br />

covered diverse topics grouped<br />

around five themes:<br />

- An International overview and<br />

perspective,<br />

- Creativity and <strong>in</strong>novation,<br />

- New market<strong>in</strong>g and Advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />

concepts,<br />

- How to reach the players <strong>in</strong> a segmented<br />

market,<br />

- Checks and balances, Corporate Social<br />

Responsibility, etc...<br />

Mr. Arch Gleason, WLA President, started<br />

the sem<strong>in</strong>ar with his warm open<strong>in</strong>g addresses,<br />

welcom<strong>in</strong>g the participants.<br />

The first day, January 29 th , featured two<br />

<strong>in</strong>spirational keynote speakers: Mr. John<br />

Luff, Founder “Susta<strong>in</strong>able Market<strong>in</strong>g –<br />

UK” whose presentation stressed the concept<br />

that good Corporate Social Responsibility<br />

and Market<strong>in</strong>g/Advertis<strong>in</strong>g were<br />

<strong>in</strong>separable. Mr. John Luff was followed<br />

by Mr. Dan Thwaites, Plann<strong>in</strong>g Director<br />

H.S&P, who provided fresh and orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />

advertis<strong>in</strong>g ideas based on exist<strong>in</strong>g successful<br />

ads and advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaigns.<br />

Mr. Francesco Parola, <strong>Lottery</strong> Director<br />

31<br />

P<br />

AN RAMA<br />

and Mr. Michael Stask<strong>in</strong>, Market<strong>in</strong>g Director,<br />

SISAL SpA, followed with an update<br />

on the very successful SuperEnalotto<br />

game <strong>in</strong> Italy.<br />

Mr. Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Director General,<br />

then overviewed the market<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

advertis<strong>in</strong>g activities lead<strong>in</strong>g to the launch<br />

of the Suisse Romande <strong>Lottery</strong> eventbased<br />

game “Christmas for Life”. Similarly,<br />

Mr. Joris Van Dijk, Market<strong>in</strong>g Manager and<br />

Sales, Nederlandse Staatsloterij, presented<br />

the concept and advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaign<br />

lead<strong>in</strong>g to the launch of their event-based<br />

game NewYear’s Eve 2008 draw.<br />

“Gett<strong>in</strong>g real value from Advertis<strong>in</strong>g” was<br />

the topic of Mrs. Marzia Mastrogiacomo,<br />

Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Division, Lottomatica, followed<br />

by four experienced <strong>Lottery</strong> executives on<br />

the general topic of “How to reach players<br />

market, measur<strong>in</strong>g the effects of fragmented<br />

advertis<strong>in</strong>g”. First, Mr. Klaus B.<br />

Lohse, Market<strong>in</strong>g Director, Danske Spil, on<br />

Oddset and how to survive and strive <strong>in</strong> the<br />

current environment, then Mr. Marko Milankovic,<br />

Market<strong>in</strong>g Manager, State <strong>Lottery</strong><br />

of Serbia, on the launch and life <strong>in</strong> 2008 of<br />

four scratch tickets games, followed by Mr.<br />

Jaromir Liptak, Head of Strategy Department,<br />

Tipos Slovakia, on Market<strong>in</strong>g tools<br />

used <strong>in</strong> the launch of their Lotto game,<br />

f<strong>in</strong>ally Mr. Marc Frederix, Market<strong>in</strong>g Director<br />

Loterie Nationale Belge, presented<br />

their econometric model<strong>in</strong>g methods for<br />

media coverage optimization.<br />

The rest of the day was dedicated to the<br />

topic of “Advertis<strong>in</strong>g and responsible<br />

gam<strong>in</strong>g” which first saw Baroness Jean<br />

Couss<strong>in</strong>s, <strong>in</strong>dependent Consultant on<br />

Corporate Responsibility, who covered<br />

the ills and woes of irresponsible market<strong>in</strong>g<br />

draw<strong>in</strong>g analogies with the alcoholic<br />

dr<strong>in</strong>ks <strong>in</strong>dustry. Baroness Couss<strong>in</strong>s<br />

concluded her remarks by stress<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

importance of a genu<strong>in</strong>e commitment to<br />

responsible market<strong>in</strong>g by the lottery organisations,<br />

thus demonstrat<strong>in</strong>g a shared<br />

agenda with government and other regulatory<br />

agencies, which <strong>in</strong> turn will help<br />

preserve a fair legal, social and regulatory<br />

environment <strong>in</strong> which to do bus<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />

This was followed by Mrs. Miriam Nilsson,<br />

Project Manager, Svenska Spel, on the<br />

<strong>Lottery</strong> case study, and Mrs. Murielle Fonta<strong>in</strong>e,<br />

Senior Market<strong>in</strong>g Manager, Pollard<br />

Banknote, on how best to support Instant<br />

games susta<strong>in</strong>ability with social medias.<br />

The second day, January 30 th , started with<br />

a presentation by Mr. Gordon Medenica,


Director, New York State <strong>Lottery</strong>, who covered<br />

the three key elements of the New<br />

York State <strong>Lottery</strong> Advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaign,<br />

i.e. fund<strong>in</strong>g, creativity and mass market<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

with the help of well-developed and<br />

excellent advertis<strong>in</strong>g clips. Mr. Richard<br />

Bateson, Director of Games and scratchcards,<br />

Camelot UK, presented how the<br />

organisation created the right market<strong>in</strong>g<br />

mix to reach the £1 billion <strong>in</strong> scratchcards<br />

sales <strong>in</strong> 2007-2008. Mr. Gregor Espenkott,<br />

Advertis<strong>in</strong>g Manager, Westdeutsche Lotterie,<br />

followed with an overview of the situation<br />

<strong>in</strong> Germany regard<strong>in</strong>g advertis<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

Later, a series of presentations revolved<br />

around the theme of Creative advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />

on different channels. First, Mr. Ari<br />

Tuuli, Market<strong>in</strong>g Manager, Veikkaus, on<br />

how to achieve strategic goals through<br />

multi-channels advertis<strong>in</strong>g campaigns,<br />

Mr. Xavier Cos Valero, Manager of O.A.L,<br />

Commercial Delegate, LAE Barcelona on<br />

the <strong>Lottery</strong> channel Canal LAE, and Mr.<br />

Taras Lozhenko, Creative Director, MSL<br />

Ukra<strong>in</strong>e, on New Games <strong>in</strong> a New World.<br />

Mr. Dermot Griff<strong>in</strong>, CEO, An Post Ireland,<br />

spoke about the revitalization of An Post<br />

and the national lottery brand.<br />

At the end of the day, representatives of<br />

three Premium Partners presented their<br />

views on Licensed Products, Mrs. Carla<br />

Schaeffer, VP, New Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Development,<br />

MDI, Advertis<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a recessive<br />

32<br />

economy, Mrs. Sharon Duncalf, Senior Director,<br />

Gtech UK, and How and Why to<br />

focus on Detail – Focus on Retail by Mr.<br />

Vasilis Kasiotakis, Intralot.<br />

After each group of presentations, panel<br />

discussions allowed the participants and<br />

the guest speakers to further explore and<br />

exchange on these topics, the f<strong>in</strong>al panel<br />

be<strong>in</strong>g on today’s f<strong>in</strong>ancial crisis.<br />

In addition, the participants had ample<br />

opportunity to network and sample<br />

Camelot’s hospitality and the excellent organization<br />

provided by EL’s Office of the<br />

Secretariat-General.<br />

We wish to thank all parties <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the<br />

organisation of this sem<strong>in</strong>ar, <strong>in</strong> particular<br />

the participants for their <strong>in</strong>put, comments<br />

and for mak<strong>in</strong>g this event a success.<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

Gilbert Rehayem<br />

Moderator<br />

Report Legal sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

The Hague 1st to 3rd April 2009<br />

This years’ first EL legal sem<strong>in</strong>ar took place<br />

<strong>in</strong> The Hague, the diplomatic capital of The<br />

Netherlands. To the joy of many Members,<br />

the tim<strong>in</strong>g for the sem<strong>in</strong>ar was chosen extremely<br />

well. We enjoyed very nice spr<strong>in</strong>g<br />

weather, but even more importantly, on the<br />

open<strong>in</strong>g even<strong>in</strong>g of the sem<strong>in</strong>ar we could<br />

attend the football match between The<br />

Netherlands and the Former Yugoslav Republic<br />

of Macedonia. It came as no surprise<br />

that the outcome of the match was 4-0,<br />

and accord<strong>in</strong>g the open<strong>in</strong>g statement of<br />

the Chairman of the Legal Affairs Work<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Group, Mr. Tjeerd Veenstra, the presence<br />

of EL counted at least for 2 of the goals of<br />

the w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g Dutch team.<br />

Workshops<br />

It was <strong>in</strong> that spirit that the Legal sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

was opened by the Chairman on Thursday<br />

morn<strong>in</strong>g. He welcomed all the EL Members<br />

who were aga<strong>in</strong> numerously present and<br />

thanked the Dutch Staatsloterij for the jo<strong>in</strong>t<br />

cooperation <strong>in</strong> the organisation of this legal<br />

sem<strong>in</strong>ar.<br />

The kick-off was made by Annick Hubert,<br />

giv<strong>in</strong>g an update on the recent EU legal<br />

developments. She discussed the status<br />

of the many court cases currently pend<strong>in</strong>g<br />

before the <strong>Europe</strong>an Court of Justice and<br />

expla<strong>in</strong>ed that the only news regard<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

<strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>gement cases is the satisfactory status<br />

quo. Currently Commissioner MC Creevy<br />

has not enough political support of the oth-


Workshops<br />

er commissioners, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Commission<br />

President Barosso, to move the procedures<br />

forward. The evolution of the Commission<br />

<strong>in</strong>vestigation regard<strong>in</strong>g the compla<strong>in</strong>t<br />

launched by the Remote Gambl<strong>in</strong>g Association<br />

under the Trade Barriers Regulations<br />

and the way forward for EL has been discussed<br />

further.<br />

The sem<strong>in</strong>ar cont<strong>in</strong>ued with a panel discussion,<br />

chaired by Tjeerd Veenstra, on the<br />

political gambl<strong>in</strong>g debate with<strong>in</strong> the Council<br />

<strong>in</strong>itiated by the French Presidency, and<br />

confirmed to be cont<strong>in</strong>ued under the upcom<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Swedish Presidency. After Philippe<br />

Vlaemm<strong>in</strong>ck highlighted some of the important<br />

<strong>in</strong>stitutional elements of the political<br />

regulatory process, Dimitris Panageas<br />

and Ana Paula Barros talked about their<br />

participation <strong>in</strong> the Council Work<strong>in</strong>g group<br />

meet<strong>in</strong>gs, while Bengt Palmgren discussed<br />

the <strong>in</strong>tentions of the upcom<strong>in</strong>g Swedish<br />

Presidency. Rupert Hornig, EL General<br />

Delegate, emphasized the importance of<br />

the contacts EL Members have with their<br />

governments <strong>in</strong> this regard.<br />

After a well-deserved coffee break, we<br />

started with the traditional update on national<br />

developments with a cross border relevance.<br />

For this occasion, Hubert Sick<strong>in</strong>g<br />

gave us a comprehensive presentation on<br />

the recent legal developments <strong>in</strong> Germany,<br />

follow<strong>in</strong>g the recent judgments. This was<br />

followed by a presentation of Bengt Palmgren<br />

on the evolution <strong>in</strong> Sweden, follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the study recently published, <strong>in</strong> which he<br />

stated that Swedish gam<strong>in</strong>g regulation is<br />

at a true cross road right now. This session<br />

was f<strong>in</strong>alised by an overview of the developments<br />

<strong>in</strong> some other countries, made by<br />

several lottery lawyers.<br />

The big topics after lunch were the general<br />

legal pr<strong>in</strong>ciples defended <strong>in</strong> the lottery sector,<br />

presented by Philippe Vlaemm<strong>in</strong>ck and<br />

the Commission proposal for a Directive on<br />

Consumer Rights. Jutta Buyse gave us a full<br />

overview of the scope and impact of the<br />

Commission proposal and the <strong>in</strong>put EL has<br />

given together with ECA and EPMA to the<br />

EP consultation on the matter. Ana Paula<br />

Barros cont<strong>in</strong>ued this topic by discuss<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the risks of the low standard of the current<br />

Commission proposal and expla<strong>in</strong>ed her<br />

<strong>in</strong>itiative to hold a survey between the EL<br />

Members to compare this standard with the<br />

standards on consumer protection ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

<strong>in</strong> the different EU Member States.<br />

The first day of the sem<strong>in</strong>ar was ended with<br />

a very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g and educational visit to<br />

the Peace Palace, home to a number of<br />

<strong>in</strong>ternational judicial <strong>in</strong>stitutions. After-<br />

wards, we all enjoyed a wonderful d<strong>in</strong>ner <strong>in</strong><br />

Scheven<strong>in</strong>gen.<br />

The specific theme of the second day of the<br />

sem<strong>in</strong>ar was ‘<strong>in</strong>ternet gambl<strong>in</strong>g’ and was<br />

opened very straightforward with a very<br />

<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g presentation of Dimos Adamos,<br />

discuss<strong>in</strong>g the enforcement actions that are<br />

taken <strong>in</strong> Greece aga<strong>in</strong>st illegal bett<strong>in</strong>g services<br />

through the Internet. Specific attention<br />

was given to the action aga<strong>in</strong>st Stanley<br />

Bet, which opened last year two po<strong>in</strong>ts of<br />

sales <strong>in</strong> Greece, contrary to Greek gambl<strong>in</strong>g<br />

legislation.<br />

Afterwards, the Chairman f<strong>in</strong>alised the<br />

round table with the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g country<br />

reports, before tak<strong>in</strong>g the time to listen to<br />

Michel Janot, present<strong>in</strong>g the very recent<br />

French law proposal regard<strong>in</strong>g a licens<strong>in</strong>g<br />

system for onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g services. Michel<br />

gave us a very clear overview of all the<br />

ma<strong>in</strong> elements of the law proposal which<br />

will change the gambl<strong>in</strong>g environment <strong>in</strong><br />

France significantly, while be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> perfect<br />

conformity with <strong>Europe</strong>an law pr<strong>in</strong>ciples.<br />

Michel gave the floor to Claudia Ricchetti,<br />

who expla<strong>in</strong>ed very eloquently the Italian<br />

licens<strong>in</strong>g model, based on a controlled<br />

open<strong>in</strong>g organised by the Bersani Decree<br />

and the changes proposed by the new Italian<br />

Community law of 2009. She also provided<br />

us with a clear explanation on the important<br />

difference between a public service<br />

contract and a concession, and which rules<br />

need to be applied accord<strong>in</strong>gly.<br />

The next session concerned the <strong>Europe</strong>an<br />

Parliament resolution on onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

presented by Rupert Hornig. He first gave<br />

us an overview of the ma<strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>es of the resolution<br />

and emphasized the next steps that<br />

were recommended by the <strong>Europe</strong>an Parliament.<br />

Although the aim of the commercial<br />

operators when they pushed for this<br />

<strong>in</strong>itiative was to move forward the <strong>in</strong>fr<strong>in</strong>gement<br />

cases, there is no such a call <strong>in</strong> the<br />

resolution, neither regard<strong>in</strong>g the establishment<br />

of a directive on onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g. The<br />

resolution was adopted with an overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g<br />

majority on the 12th of March 2009.<br />

The last presentation of this legal sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

was made by Philippe Vlaemm<strong>in</strong>ck, who<br />

expla<strong>in</strong>ed us the ma<strong>in</strong> concerns and the<br />

po<strong>in</strong>ts of attention under anti trust law<br />

when it comes to onl<strong>in</strong>e gambl<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

After two days of most <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g discussions,<br />

the Chairman, mr. Tjeerd Veenstra,<br />

confirmed <strong>in</strong> its clos<strong>in</strong>g remarks that the<br />

presentations made dur<strong>in</strong>g the sem<strong>in</strong>ar<br />

showed us the importance of the last couple<br />

of months for EL, and ensure an even<br />

more <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g upcom<strong>in</strong>g period. Before<br />

33<br />

P AN RAMA<br />

thank<strong>in</strong>g everyone for its participation dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the sem<strong>in</strong>ar, the Chairman raised the attention<br />

of the Members to the importance<br />

to exchange even more <strong>in</strong>formation regard<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the legal and political developments<br />

<strong>in</strong> the different Member States. F<strong>in</strong>ally a<br />

warm thank you was addressed to all the<br />

people that were <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the organisation<br />

of this very successful legal sem<strong>in</strong>ar.<br />

Annick Hubert<br />

EL Legal Advisor

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