Page 32 - Public Gaming International September/October 2017

LOTTOLAND – THE TRUTH

by Nigel Birrell, CEO of Lottoland

’m extremely proud to be the CEO of and institutions in the fields of sports
Lottoland, which is why I can no longer sit and support for disabled people with the
back and allow traditional lottery opera- Lottoland Foundation (Lottoland Stiftung).
Itors to spread untruths about us in the In Australia, Lottoland is a major sponsor
market.
Lottoland is officially licensed by the of the Manly Warringah rugby league club
Government of Gibraltar; the UK Gambling and have recently announced that it will be
Commission; the Republic of Ireland License backing the Mitchell Street Mile race –the
Office (Revenue Commissioner); and charity partner for the race is the Royal
Australia’s Northern Territory Government. Flying Doctors service that will receive AUS
We do not break any laws and are fully $25k from Lottoland Australia plus AUS $25
compliant with EU regulations and the for every entrant into the race.
terms of all our licenses, we also pay all taxes players to protect themselves from dilu- We also take player protection very seri-
in the countries that we operate in. tion), all this from the convenience of their
Lottoland brings better choice, value and own device. In this way, our lotto betting ously. We offer player protection on our
innovation to customers and the betting products are distinctly different to what the sites, promote responsible gaming and we
market via a wide range of new and differ- lotteries out there offer, many of our unique are focused on delivering a safe and trans-
entiated products and features. We offer our features (such as “DoubleJackpot”) are even parent environment for our customers. Key
customers bets on more than 30 different contrary to the traditional lottery mechan- measures that have been taken include;
lotteries - most of which customers do not ics and logic. Deposit limit, self-exclusion, age verification;
have direct access to otherwise. Through customer research we’ve found and Games Reality Check. Odds for Lottery
We are careful not to infringe anyone that often people who bet on Lottoland
else’s trademarks and own many of our will remain buying lottery tickets from bet are also published on our website in a
own (we have over 70 registered trademarks their National Lotteries. That’s because clear and transparent fashion.
within our IP portfolio and currently have when coming to Lottoland customers are Lottoland has never failed to payout a
many more at the application stage). The looking for something very different to the genuine winner - we guarantee all payouts
“Lottoland’ brand is now recognised all over traditional lottery buying experience. For through a sophisticated tried-and-tested
the world and it is very flattering that in just this reason and as further explained we do insurance structure. This structure is at the
a few years we have created a business that is not see ourselves in direct competition with heart of our operation and, as pioneers in this
well-liked by over 6 million customers and is existing lottery providers – we are attracting
also on the radar of large lottery companies a new customer group. area, we are extremely proud of it. We have
who insist on trying to undermine what we Furthermore, there is no evidence to had to prove our payout capabilities across
are doing. We are passionate about choice support the claim that we are having a all of our products as part of the stringent
and value, and we strongly believe that once significant impact on sales in either Europe due diligence process in all the regulated
people understand our offering any misper- or Australia. For example, in Australia, markets we have entered into. To-date we
ceptions will disappear. Lottoland accounts for less than 1% of Tatts have paid out €843m in total payouts - €275
Betting customers have been betting on overall revenue. In the United Kingdom, million of this was in lottery prizes and the
the outcome of lottery draws for years but both the Government (DCMS) and the biggest single prize paid to-date was €22
winnings have been capped at low amounts Gambling Commission have both publically
– at Lottoland we enable players to bet to stated that there is no evidence to suggest million. Also as the payment of winnings
win life-changing jackpot prizes. We have that Lottoland is having an impact on the links to the integrity of our company, any
recently extended our offer to provide B2B National Lottery or Good Causes – our sales allegation that Lottoland does not payout
services to other gaming operators who are account for less than 0.1% of Camelot’s is taken extremely seriously as such misin-
looking to do the same. A logical extension revenues. formation puts at risk those things that we
of this service could be to partner with a We applaud the good work that National have built up over the years, such as profes-
traditional lottery operator. Lotteries across the world are doing in sionalism, trust reputation, and goodwill.
Moreover, Lottoland’s insurance-backed regards to Good Causes, we are not here
business model, allows it to offer unique to take money away from them and we do As I said at the start, I am extremely proud
features such as “DoubleJackpot” (allowing support local charities in the countries that to be the CEO of Lottoland and hope that
players to double their jackpot winnings on we operate in. For instance, in Germany, this article will help set the record straight.
any lottery) or “NumberShield” (allowing we support a variety of different projects Lottoland is here to stay. n

32 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2017