Public Gaming International November/December 2021

48 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 BCLC’s Interim President & CEO, while Jim Lightbody continues his medical leave to undergo cancer treatment and recovery. The spotlight is firmly on the metaverse, with Facebook now rebranding itself as Meta. The social media giant aims to, by the end of the decade, attract one billion users to the metaverse, a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, AR, VR, and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually. The metaverse is basically an online 3D universe that combines various virtual spaces and allows users across the globe to meet, chat, work, and play games together. Lottery.com Closes SPAC Deal, Debuts on Nasdaq Monday AutoLotto, which does business as Lottery. com, has closed its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Trident Acquisitions Corp. The online lottery provider allows consumers and businesses to purchase lottery tickets online and via mobile devices. IGT to spin off its Digital & Betting arm over the coming 12 months During a virtual investor day on Tuesday, the global gaming technology provider outlined its plans to maximize the value of the business segment. The division will become its own separate entity over the next year. IGT will then decide whether to take the new entity public or not. No matter what happens, IGT will hold onto a majority stake in the business. The supplier believes that this new type of structure for its Digital & Betting division will help position it to gain market share in the “high growth” online gambling sector. A dedicated management team will take charge of the spun-off business. IGT has recently hired previous Bet365 executive Gil Rotem as iGaming president and former William Hill US CEO Joe Asher as Sports Betting president. Reporting to Enrico Drago, IGT CEO Digital & Betting, Rotem is responsible for ensuring the ongoing development and global expansion of the IGT PlayCasino business, which includes iGaming, poker and bingo. IGT Gains Exclusive Omnichannel Lottery Licensing Rights to Marilyn Monroe IGT Signs iGaming Content Distribution Agreement with Yggdrasil Gaming for U.S. and Canada IGT Resort Wallet and IGTPay Cashless Technologies Named "Product Innovation of the Year" in 2021 Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas IGT's Resort Wallet and IGTPay make "going cashless" simple for operators and players. As modules of the IGT ADVANTAGE casino management system, Resort Wallet enables operators to offer "carded cashless" or "cardless cashless" gaming, and in combination with IGTPay, provide players access to external funding sources such as bank and debit cards and e-wallets. As the industry's only fully integrated cashless solution, Resort Wallet with IGTPay provides a seamless player experience that enables players to transfer funds to and from their PIN-protected Cashless Wagering Account to various casino games and personal funding sources in a single secure cashless ecosystem. IWG and the Michigan Lottery Sign Contract Extension to July 2026 Pollard Banknote Vice President Brad Thompson Receives Powers Award Recognizing Exceptional Job Performance HR Director Liz Alex of the Ohio Lottery named NASPL Powers Award Recipient Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) appoints Kandice Machado President and CEO With over 19 years of first-hand experience with AGLC, Machado has spent the last 10 months as acting President & CEO at the Crown corporation. Atlantic Lottery (ALC) appoints Patrick Daigle as CEO “I am happy to share Atlantic Lottery’s 2020-21 financial results and to announce that the corporation returned $346.5 million to the four Atlantic provinces last year,” Daigle said. “Atlantic Lottery continues to invest in its digital channels and is working to modernize our player experiences so we can continue to compete in this highly competitive market and maximize future profit returns. This focus helped us to pivot during COVID-19 and identify ways to continue providing our players with exceptional experiences despite service disruptions.” Scientific Games Wins 10-year Vermont Lottery Systems Contract gaming systems technology contract, winning the new business from a global competitor. Generating maximum revenues for the State of Vermont's Education Fund, Scientific Games' advanced platforms, retail solutions products and game services will power the Vermont Lottery for 10 years through the new contract, which may be extended for up to 10 additional years. Scientific Games Wins Two Major Contract Awards From Pennsylvania Lottery Scientific Games Corporation will provide its world-leading instant games and Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership for lottery instant game services, as well as a 10-year base contract to provide lottery gaming systems services across the network of nearly 10,000 Pennsylvania Lottery retailers. Scientific Games Corporation appoints Connie James as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary and Ted Hase as Senior Vice President of Game Design IGT to Advance VLT Central System Technology in Alberta with INTELLIGEN Five-Year Contract Extension The extension runs through July 2026. Under the terms of the extension, IGT will upgrade AGLC's video lottery central system to the latest version of INTELLIGEN, which includes improved network diagnostics and stability. AGLC will also receive several iLINK Ultras, IGT's latest retailer site controller that has a separate point-of-sale device and logic box for increased flexibility, and an updated user interface with improved features for the retailer. IGT's INTELLIGEN systems are deployed worldwide connecting a wide range of VLTs in a variety of gaming environments. Sightline Payments and IGT Announce Cashless Gaming Partnership The partnership will deliver cashless gaming solutions through Sightline’s award-winning digital commerce platform Play+ and IGT’s P U L S E