48 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 PULSE (IGT) to supply its NeoGames Studio™ premium content to the Kentucky Lottery beginning in 2025. To support this partnership, Aristocrat Interactive has developed an insights-driven launch strategy customized for the Kentucky market. Through an integration with IGT, Kentucky Lottery’s iLottery systems provider, Aristocrat Interactive will provide players with a curated mix of NeoGames Studio’s latest and most successful games. NeoGames Studio, Aristocrat Interactive’s in-house iLottery studio, has been creating award-winning eInstant games for more than 20 years and has been recognized for their artwork, animations, and consistent high performance in markets worldwide. “The Kentucky Lottery is constantly looking for innovative ways to provide our players fun and exciting experiences in everything we do,” said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Mary Harville. “This opportunity with Aristocrat Interactive will allow us to continue to engage our players and help us meet our mission to fund scholarships and grants for Kentucky college students and families all across the Commonwealth.” “We are excited and proud to be able to bring our premium eInstant games to a large new market of players and are confident that this deal will be a win-win for all stakeholders,” said Chris Shaban, Managing Director of Aristocrat Interactive iLottery. “This collaboration is a further illustration of our commitment to providing innovative, engaging games that meet the needs of lottery customers, and to help the iLottery programs meet their goals, generating revenues for good causes.” Building upon recent deals with Georgia and Pennsylvania lotteries, this latest agreement reinforces Aristocrat Interactive’s growing impact in the U.S. iLottery industry, establishing its presence across eight U.S. lottery markets, including four leading per capita iLottery programs nationwide. Explosion Of Sweepstakes Is The Top Gaming Story Of The Year A proposed iGaming legislation framework introduced by the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States would include a ban of sweepstakes operators. Fines could reach $100,000 under the proposed language. Sweepstakes tighten up operations California Lawsuit Accuses Online Sweepstakes Site of Operating Illegally Based on Internet Cafe Law Apple and Google get hit with RICO lawsuit over sweepstakes in New Jersey The lawsuit accuses Google and Apple of having a role in the distribution of illegal gambling. NJ lawmakers state lawmakers took a first step toward blocking the New Jersey Lottery from selling tickets directly to consumers online or via its mobile app A key Assembly committee last week gave its unanimous approval to legislation that preserves the status quo for a network of nearly 7,000 brickand-mortar businesses that currently sell tickets for the state Lottery. Texas lawmakers are taking aim at people who play the lottery by purchasing tickets online from businesses that will go buy tickets for people who live out of state A loophole has allowed for massive jackpots, including a $95 million win, to be claimed by people who do not live in the state of Texas. The Sunset Advisory Commission, a state commission responsible for reviewing government agencies and programs, released a report in July condemning the business model. The bill also wants to make it illegal "for another person to purchase a ticket on behalf of a person playing a lottery game," including accepting orders for tickets, selling tickets to other people and also to arrange to purchase on behalf of someone playing the lottery. Lottery courier service Jackpot strikes 7-Eleven partnership The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has set its sights on Google’s perceived monopoly, proposing a significant split of its Chrome browser and Android operating system. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Demands Federal Standards to Protect Consumers Against Problem Gambling As mobile sports betting surges, Blumenthal called for minimum federal standards like those in his Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act to better protect consumers from addictive practices and features of online sportsbooks and gambling platforms. The Kentucky Lottery Corporation has been recognized as a Best-inClass Employer in Gallagher’s 2024 U.S. Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey. WORLD NEWS The WLA & The European Lotteries Security and Operational Risks Seminar has wrapped up with plenty of food for thought. A supplier round table delved into Leveraging Advanced Security Tools to Integrate AI in Lottery Systems; Leveraging Gen AI to predict and prevent a data breach; Cybersecurity & software security aided by AI and AI for a better, safer gaming experience with experts Dimitris Doganos Senior Cyber Security Manager, Intralot, Greece; Marc Castejon CISO, Carmanah Signs, a Division of STRATACACHE Signs Inc, France; Dragan Pleskonjic Senior Director Application Security, IGT, Serbia; Avi COHEN Director of Data Analytics and Insight, Aristocrat Interactive, Israel. WLA Security and Risk Management Committee update on risk management was provided by Nicodemo Baffa Director of Risk Management, IGT Lottery, Italy, who highlighted important work carried out to provide members with tools and guidance for their own risk management approaches including: José Luis Sanchez Fernandes, Head of CSR, SELAE, Spain provided an update on the EL ORA Risk Reference Card on AI. Spain's 'fat' lottery delivers hefty $2.8 billion prize in centuries-old Christmas tradition Spain’s 200-year-old holiday lottery, "The Fat One," El Gordo is the world's largest lottery, with a total prize pool of €2.7 billion and over 70% of Spaniards participating and watched live around the world. The drawing took place on Sunday, December 22. The lottery is deeply rooted in Spanish culture, with an estimated 70-90% of the adult population participating each year. This year's sales are expected to break all previous records, with each player spending an average of €72 on tickets. For those unfamiliar with it, the scale and traditions surrounding the lottery can be hard to comprehend. To illustrate, people line up for hours at places believed to bring good luck, travel to other cities to buy tickets, and perform all sorts of quirky rituals in the hopes of winning. The lottery was originally created to raise funds for Spanish troops during the Peninsular War and is still organized by the state. The lottery system is unique and can be a bit confusing, even for those who have grown up with the tradition. Unlike other lotteries, where a single winner claims a massive prize, Spain's Christmas lottery distributes its winnings widely, creating thousands of winners. There are only 100,000 ticket numbers, ranging from 00000 to 99999, and each number is printed on 1,930 décimos. A décimo, which means "a tenth of a ticket," is the most common ticket people buy, costing €20. The total prize pool is €2.7 billion, divided into thousands of prizes. The top prize, the coveted El Gordo, awards €400,000 per décimo. One of the most iconic aspects of the draw is that children sing the winning numbers. These children come from the San Ildefonso school in Madrid, which has been responsible for this tradition since the lottery began. The school was originally founded to support orphaned children and continues to assist children in vulnerable situations today. While the origins of this tradition are unclear, several legends surround it.
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