Issue N20, 2009
May 28, 2009
Intralot Slammed by Victorian Government
The Australian subsidiary of the Greek lottery group, Intralot, was slapped with a massive A$30,000 fine this week after the company failed to adhere to the conditions of the multi year lottery license that it holds in the state. The Victorian government did not take too kindly to Intralot Australia’s decision to cancel a bingo game that should have been broadcast on state TV over the weekend, for which tickets had been sold through lottery outlets throughout the previous week.
Intralot Australia said that the reason that the bingo game was not broadcast in the end was because none of the commercial television stations showed any interest in the venture. The group said that it had had made every effort to get the game broadcast, but in the end had to make do with a broadcast across the airwaves via Melbourne radio station 3AW.
However, the government, which is beginning to lose its patience with Intralot for failing to make good on its guarantees of increasing revenue for the state lottery after it took over from Tattersalls in 2007 with a ten year lottery license, was not prepared to ease up on the punitive actions. “The Victorian Commission on Gambling Regulation determined Intralot breached its license for failing to broadcast the drawing of 'TV Bingo' and has recommended that the Government take disciplinary action,” said the Victorian Minister for Gaming, Tony Robinson. “By failing to broadcast the bingo draw on television, Intralot is conducting a public lottery that is different to that authorized by the license.”
Svenska Spel Pleased with New Certification
The Swedish state run gaming company, Svenska Spel, has become the first gaming group in Europe to earn compliance with the new standards test created by the European Lotteries and Toto Association. The Association recently ran a pilot program where the standards of 10 European groups were tested in all fields, including research, game structure, customer support and online gambling. It was announced this week that Svenska Spel, which currently holds a monopoly on the Swedish gaming market, was the first group to achieve compliance with the European Responsible Gaming Standard Test.
“This is once again major recognition of our responsible gambling work. This certification is completely in line with the social responsibility we are expected to accept and which forms the basis for everything we do,” declared Meta Persdotter, who acts as Chief Executive Officer of Svenska Spel. “In purely scientific terms, this assessment has involved reviewing matters and making sure that staff and business partners are receiving the right training, that there are clear ethical rules on marketing; and we have also looked at - for example - processes involving evaluation of responsible gambling measures aimed at players.”
Win A Day Jackpot Hit Again
The popular 3D online casino, Win A Day, has proven just how active the site is, after declaring its third progressive jackpot hit since the beginning of the year. Win A Day, an instant gaming site, was created by iconic online casino, Slotland, to bring players immediate slot and video poker pleasure, with the added advantage of practically every game at the site linked to an ever expanding progressive jackpot.
The latest win was on the popular Wheeler Dealer slot game and the lucky player took home just over $100K for her efforts!
“My friend convinced me to play at WinADay.com,” recalled the winner, BONDGIRL07, as she told of the moments leading up to her big win. “I tried out all the games in Free Play and then, after I'd found my favorite games and learned how to play, I switched to real money.”
“My first spin on Wheeler Dealer gave me three gold bars so I knew this was the game to play tonight,” she said. “I stayed with Wheeler Dealer for an hour, slowly seeing a rise in my cash. After fifteen minutes though, I wasn't getting any hits and had almost given up. Boy, was I surprised when I got three cash symbols! I couldn't believe it - I had won $100,224!”
The jackpot on the 9 reel, 8 pay line Wheeler Dealer was immediately set back to $40,000 and it shouldn’t be too long now that Win A Day announces another big win!
Harrah’s Moves Into Online Gambling Realm
One of the world’s biggest gambling operations, Harrah’s Entertainment, started the week off with news that it was officially venturing off into the online gambling realm with the launch of Harrah’s Interactive. The group said that the new division will be headed by former Party Gaming Chief Executive Officer, Mitch Gerber, who may see Harrah’s work for with his previous company in joint ventures in the near future.
“Harrah's is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion,” said the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, Gary Loveman. “It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands.”
Harrah’s Entertainment is hoping to expand into the European online gaming markets, as well as found further markets for its World Series of Poker brand.