Public Gaming International May/June 2020

78 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2020 P U L S E games that need to be sanitized on the casino oor by quickly identifying games that require sanitization after active play. Operators can also schedule sanitization at regular intervals for con- tinued sanitization as well as anonymous play. Virginia Lottery launches casino and sports betting microsite e Virginia Lottery launched an online microsite providing key information and public transparency as the agency begins developing appropriate and responsible regulations for expanded gaming, according to a news release from the agency. e 2020 General Assembly authorized the Virginia Lottery as the regulator of new casino gaming and sports betting activities. e microsite can be found at www.valottery.com/ casinosandsportsbetting. Minnesota judge: Electronic pull- tabs don't violate tribal gambling monopoly Electronic pulltabs, the source of public funding for U.S. Bank Stadium, survived a legal challenge ursday by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, who argued that the single button on e-pull-tabs made them similar to slot machines. A state administrative law judge ruled that the pulltabs o ered in bars by charitable organizations don’t infringe on the exclusive rights of the state’s Indian tribes to operate video slot machines. RFP: The Missouri Lottery Com- mission is seeking information from vendors to assist in the development of a Request for Proposals for Pull-Tabs, dispens- ers and related services. EquiLottery Games and NASCAR Partner On New Lottery Draw Game Oregonians can now play the lot- tery from home Jackpocket, the third-party app which provides a secure way to order o cial state lottery tickets, launched in Oregon. Oregonians can now use Jackpocket’s mobile app to place ticket orders for well-known jackpot games, including Powerball, Massachusetts Lottery at risk of becoming obsolete, director says e Massachusetts Lottery, one of the most successful in the U.S. over many years, faces "a signi cant threat of becoming somewhat obsolete" as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates industry-wide shifts toward online and cashless interactions, Lottery Executive Director Michael Sweeney said Tuesday. e agency's model, built exclusively around in-person cash sales and a driver of foot tra c and customers at Lottery retailers, may not be su cient for the “new normal”. Other states, including neighbors New Hampshire and Rhode Island, have allowed portions or all of their lottery business to shift online during business shutdowns that have marked the COVID-19 pandemic. While some convenience stores that sell Lottery products remained open during the outbreak, overall sales have tumbled in the past two months. April's net pro t dropped to $71.6 mil- lion, about $22.5 million less than in April 2019. " e lost revenue to the Lottery is permanently lost revenue," said Comptroller William McNa- mara, a member of the Lottery Commission. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who has urged law- makers to authorize online and cashless lottery operations, said Tuesday that lawmakers could make an "immediate impact" to mitigate losses -- and generate additional revenue to support a strained state budget -- by bringing the system in Massachusetts more in line with its peers. Fortnite passes 350 million reg- istered players at is up from about 250 million in March 2019. We know big numbers have lost their luster in the age of trillion-dollar stimulus pack- ages, but we’ll still try to wow you—Fortnite players logged 3.2 billion hours on the game in April. at’s over 36,500 years of gaming condensed into one month. The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority chose Gaming Laboratories Inter- national (GLI) to provide consult- ing and advisory services to the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission. Michigan Gaming Control Board Accelerates the Implementation of Sports Betting and iGaming e state regulatory agency announced it will permit online and mobile betting on horse racing via Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW). e MGCB’s Enterprise Licensing and Inves- tigations sections will work cooperatively to review applications and conduct background investigations for online gaming applicants. e agency has encouraged suppliers who will support the operators and platform providers to apply as soon as they can so we can conduct reviews and prepare to issue provisional licenses. e global pandemic has closed casinos state- wide. IWG goes live with Kentucky Lottery New Hampshire Lottery Set for e-Instant Expansion with IWG REINVENTING LAND-BASED CASINOS FOR A POST-COVID19 WORLD Preparing the palace: How the iconic Las Vegas Caesars Palace casino plans to conquer Covid-19 At Caesars Palace, card tables, dice games and even slot machines are being retooled across the casino oor with social distancing and disinfec- tion in mind, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, Tony Rodio explained. "We will be deactivat- ing every other slot machine and removing the stool from the game," he said, standing at an darkened slot machine at the center of three- machine row. "A customer can't even stand here