The Supreme Court of Virginia has lifted an injunction blocking the enforcement of a state ban on skill games, despite an ongoing lawsuit claiming the ban infringes on free speech. The ban was issued in 2020 but was delayed to help raise money for a COVID-19 relief fund. The Supreme Court’s ruling said gambling could be “heavily regulated and even banned by the Commonwealth.”
The Iowa Lottery and Hawkeye Sports Properties have joined forces for a second time this year with the launch of the “Hawkeye Gold” scratch game on October 10, accompanied by the “Countdown to Carver” promotion. The promotion offers a chance to win ticket prize packages for Iowa men’s and women’s home basketball games and men’s home wrestling meets, including the December 16 doubleheader in Des Moines.
The Massachusetts State Lottery has launched the “Mass Millionaire Holiday Raffle,” offering a chance to win $1 million on New Year’s Day. Tickets, priced at $10 each, are available until December 31 or until all 550,000 tickets are sold.
Rhode Island’s State Lottery is planning to hire 19 new workers over the next two years to oversee the operations of its recently legalized online casino gambling (iGaming). The hiring effort is expected to cost the Lottery $2.4 million in the next year, but the state anticipates generating $31 million in new iGaming revenue over the next five years.
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and Instant Win Gaming (IWG) have introduced Set for Life to PlayNow.com, creating an omnichannel experience. Players can now access the retail brand in both retail outlets and online. Set for Life is also available through BCLC’s iGaming platform in Manitoba.
The “Mission Nature” game, a collaborative project between La Française des jeux and the French Biodiversity Office, supports biodiversity conservation by financing on-the-ground life restoration projects. A call for “Ecological restoration in favor of biodiversity” projects was held from March to June 2023. Selected projects will be presented on October 18, 2023, with support from key figures including the Secretary of State for Biodiversity and notable committee members, aiming to further nature conservation and restoration initiatives in France.
The deployment of new National Lottery terminals to 40,000 partner stores, overseen by Allwyn, is experiencing a delay of at least six months. Allwyn’s CEO, Robert Chvátal, acknowledges and foresaw challenges in the transition process. This delay may result in falling short of the initially promised contributions to good causes in the first two years of the new license period commencing in February 2024, with sales not meeting anticipated levels, both online and in-store. The delay is attributed to both the cost of living crisis and the postponement of new terminal installations, which were expected to introduce new services and games. Retailers have until mid-December to consider signing new contracts with Allwyn, or they may risk losing National Lottery services. Additionally, Allwyn’s plan to potentially reduce ticket prices from £2 to £1 is currently under review. Despite the setbacks, Chvátal remains confident in meeting Allwyn’s good causes commitments over the ten-year National Lottery license. The official launch of Allwyn’s role as National Lottery operator is set for February 1, with further milestones ahead.
NeoPollard Interactive (NPi) has been awarded a ten-year contract, with an optional one-year renewal, to provide the West Virginia Lottery with a turn-key iLottery System, including a fully integrated omnichannel Player Loyalty Program (PLP) and full-featured mobile application. The system will use NPi’s NeoSphere player account management system, NeoDraw, a central gaming system for draw games, and the NeoEngage customer engagement platform. Players in West Virginia will also have access to NeoGames’ Games Studio library, which includes a full suite of engaging, interactive eInstant and draw-based games.