The combined company’s properties were closed for all of April, with some regional venues coming back online in May. Since the middle of that month, 51 Caesars venues reopened. Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said the company is encouraged by operating trends, in a recent statement. Bullish commentary on regional casinos is on par with what Eldorado and the old Caesars said following reopenings and in the weeks leading up to finalization of the $17.3 billion takeover. 

"The IGT ADVANTAGE solution will offer Crown Sydney a compelling market position with advanced features that deliver greater player convenience, strengthen player loyalty, and generate deep business insights,” said Dallas Orchard, IGT Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific. “Our systems solutions will significantly benefit Crown Sydney guests and employees by providing unique capabilities that enhance gaming experiences and player safety.”

Maltco Lotteries’ CEO, Vasileios Kasiotakis,  “As the National Lottery operator and the leading sports betting provider on the island, we are thrilled to extend the U*BET offering with this state-of-the-art product and deliver an unparalleled player experience inside our shops operating within a safe environment, practicing social distancing measures, following the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and providing entertainment through a vast portfolio of games which has been specifically designed on responsible gaming principles.” INTRALOT Group CEO, Dr. Chris Dimitriadis, said that this announcement reaffirms INTRALOT’s commitment to delivering innovative games and providing unmatched gaming experiences to players in Malta. “Malta has always been a very important market for INTRALOT and that’s why we are excited to offer a broader game selection with the introduction of premium games specifically suited to the local market.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for lotteries to kick-off the new year in a big way with a social media spin on a popular game featuring the numbers 7, 11 and 21, which are believed by many to be ‘lucky’. 7-11-21 LIVE! combines our world-leading instant game products with our popular 7-11-21 trademark and a live social media event,” said John Schulz, Senior VP Lottery Instant Products, for Scientific Games. “It’s relevant, it brings people safely together for an amazing social experience, and the U.S. lottery industry hasn’t offered anything like it before.”

Instant “Scratch” Game Featuring Lucky Numbers 7-11-21 and July 11, 2021 Facebook Live Event Create Unique Celebration

“The casinos worked very hard to reconfigure their operations for this ‘new normal,’ and while this is still uncharted territory in many ways, these are strong results, given the circumstances,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica. “With limited entertainment options, people have been eager to get out and do something fun.”

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"Our second quarter results reflect the intense impact of global lockdowns caused by the pandemic," said Marco Sala, CEO of IGT. "That said, thanks to strong North America Lottery performance and our swift adoption of cost-saving and avoidance measures, we delivered better cash flow than we expected back in May. Our resilience is a direct consequence of the diversity of our global portfolio of products and solutions. The improving trends we are currently seeing are encouraging, but we remain prudent with our planning. Our new organizational structure enhances our readiness to adapt to changes in market conditions."

“We are delighted to continue our innovation with Scientific Games on Montana Scratch games for two more years through this contract extension,” said Angela Wong, Director of the Montana Lottery. “We look forward to strengthening our current Montana Scratch offering with more exciting new games that both entertain players and responsibly drive state funding to benefit all Montanans.”   “The Montana Lottery has always been a leader in launching scratch games that feature our newest manufacturing techniques and licensed brands. They are typically one of the first lotteries in the U.S. to try innovative approaches to traditional instant games, and we are honored by the trust they continue to place in our Company for more than 30 years,” said John Schulz, Senior VP Instant Products for Scientific Games.

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“Although we faced many challenges this fiscal year, we are thrilled the Lottery had another successful year in which we generated over $1 billion in profit for the vital programs that older Pennsylvanians rely on throughout the commonwealth,” said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. “The support of our players, our business partners and the entire Lottery team made this possible. We take great pride in the fact that we are the only Lottery in the U.S. that dedicates all of its proceeds to benefit older adults. We are already hard at work looking for new and innovative ways to continue responsibly growing our business to support our older residents.”

"IGT's multi-faceted, multi-year PlaySports platform technology and iGaming content agreement with FanDuel Group pairs the leading content and B2B sports betting provider with one of America's most respected sports betting operators to propel an already winning partnership to new levels and create an abundance of opportunity for both parties," said Enrico Drago, IGT PlayDigital Senior Vice President. "IGT and FanDuel Group are positioned for continued success in the U.S. and we are committed to fueling FanDuel Sportsbooks' sustained growth through our proven, market-ready platform, player-preferred game content and self-service betting technologies." 

"IGT's PlaySports platform has been integral to FanDuel Sportsbook's expansion in the U.S., as we currently leverage it to power America's #1 Sportsbook," said Matt King, FanDuel Group CEO. "IGT is the strategic partner that we will lean on to help us expand our retail footprint across the U.S. IGT's PlaySports platform enables us to create an intuitive, technologically driven customer experience at our world-class retail sportsbooks for our customers, while its PlayCasino content enables FanDuel to deliver premium mobile casino entertainment in new and existing markets."

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Maryland Lottery Director Gordon Medenica told the state House Ways and Means Committee this week that online games are “inevitable” for the future success of the agency. Nine states have operational online lotteries, including Maryland neighbors Pennsylvania and Virginia. Medenica says that though traditional in-store lottery sales have rebounded nicely since the coronavirus first closed the state, iLottery would only help further. Unfortunately, in Maryland it’s [internet lottery] banned,” Medenica explained during the virtual meeting. “One of the phenomena that we’ve seen during the shutdown in the recent months is that those states that offer iLottery have seen their iLottery sales absolutely explode.” Medenica also added those increased sales haven’t hurt brick-and-mortar sales. “That’s very important because our retailers continue to be our most important source of sales,” he continued.

Stéphane Pallez, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of FDJ, said: “The Group’s strong mobilisation from the onset of the health crisis and a swiftly implemented cost-cutting plan have limited the impact on the first-half results. From mid-June, we have been recording stakes at a level comparable with that of 2019. Our strategic orientations and the strength of the FDJ model have been confirmed, and we continue to invest to support the development of all our activities.”

“I am proud of what the Lottery has been able to achieve this year. We are living in unprecedented times and I want to thank all of those who had a hand in getting the job done. I thank our retailers and other partners for being adaptable and maintaining operations under difficult circumstances. I thank our players for their continued loyalty. And, importantly, I also thank our valued team for being flexible, creative and vigilant, all the while ensuring the integrity of the games,” said the Lottery’s Executive Director James A. Carey, Jr. “Witnessing all of us pulling together during this trying time shows our commitment to each other and what it means to be Jersey strong.”

"IGT's PeakSlant49 cabinet is a performance-driven hardware solution that is supported by an exceptional game library with marquee titles such as Fortune Coin Boost! and Bubble Blast slots, and is loaded with compelling technology that makes it attractive to our customers and their players," said Nick Khin, IGT Chief Operating Officer, Gaming. "As our customers look to IGT for technologies to re-engage their players, differentiate their casino floors, and ignite growth, the PeakSlant49 emerges as a cabinet that they can deploy with confidence given its research-backed design and quality game content."

"This was truly a successful year for not only the Commonwealth, but players and retailers as well," said Kentucky Lottery Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Howard Kline. "Our players saw a record $801.2 million in prizes paid, while our hard-working retailers realized a record-setting $71 million in commissions. From a situation where things initially looked like they could turn bleak, we ended up with a win-win all the way around."

Keith O’Loughlin, SVP Sportsbook, Digital for Scientific Games, said: “With OpenMarket, gone are the days of multiple supplier integrations that are both costly and time-consuming. We’re bringing the very best the sports world has to offer in to one single solution that creates real competitive advantage in terms of speed to market and player engagement. Since we launched OpenMarket in April, we’ve seen a surge in demand from forward-thinking operators looking to add next-level player experiences to their offering at speed.”

Long standing relationship “This contract extends the successful and nearly 12-year partnership between INTRALOT and the leading operator in Τhe Netherlands,” said INTRALOT Group CEO, Dr. Chris Dimitriadis. “The success of Nederlandse Loterij over the last years has been particularly impressive and we are looking forward to continuing the delivery of our state-of-the-art technology and to contributing to the growth of Nederlandse Loterij and its yearly remittance to Dutch society.”

“With a digital technology company launched every 72 hours in our state, Colorado is home to a cornucopia of talent and dynamic developers that creates rich soil for innovation,” said Tom Seaver, the director of the Colorado Lottery. “We are excited to leverage the creativity of these local resources and innovation from around the globe to create new game ideas, all to support our beneficiaries.”

“The Fast Play Progressive Jackpot games had a very successful first week, with better than expected sales,” said Greg Smith, President and CEO of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. “It was great to see two jackpot wins occur in the first week – one at the $1 price point, and the second a $5 price point win – allowing players to see how the jackpot grows and resets based on the amount of the win. We are very happy for those lucky winners and look forward to seeing many more.”

“We saw negative impacts on sales in the last quarter of the fiscal year due the Coronavirus pandemic, which the gains in scratch-off sales helped to offset. Throughout the last year, the Lottery proactively utilized predictive modeling tools to optimize scratch-off inventory levels at retail locations. Similar to the rest of the industry, sales remained steady during this time due in part to the limited entertainment options available,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald said.

“We’re excited that consumers really like the convenience and reliability of this new way of playing Virginia Lottery games,” said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall. “Our new online platform allows adult customers to play anytime they want, anywhere they are. Whether you play online or at one of our 5,300 licensed retail locations, Virginia Lottery profits generate significant resources each year for Virginia’s public schools.”

“It’s more important than ever that our education programs get as much help as they can to achieve their mission,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the Education Lottery. “Our state was depending on the lottery for these education dollars. The money raised will do a lot of good. Thanks to all the North Carolinians who enjoy lottery games.”

Although the lottery met its budget targets, sales in fiscal 2020 decreased 4.8% from the previous year’s total of $390.9 million. Revenue turned over to various state causes dropped 12.3% and prizes to players decreased 2.3% from the previous year’s total.  The numbers were largely impacted by two main factors: the COVID-19 pandemic and a relative lack of big jackpots in national lotto games, according to Iowa Lottery Chef Executive Matt Strawn.

“I am grateful for our loyal customers and proud of the work the Lottery team and dedicated retail partners have done to adjust operations in order to continue to generate essential local aid,” said Goldberg, chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission.