The Government is expected to come under pressure to crack down on so-called “synthetic lotteries” after Australia last week moved to ban third-party betting on national lottery games, according to a report in the Irish Times.
Following a sustained campaign by newsagents, the Australian government announced that it would prohibit lotto-betting firms such as Lottoland (www.lottoland.com) and Jackpot.com which the National Lottery here has described as “parasites”, from taking bets on lotteries there.
These new wave of industry disruptors are threatening traditional lotto monopolies all over the world by allowing gamblers to bet on lottery outcomes without actually buying tickets for any draw. In some jurisdictions, they have cannibalised up to 20% of the market.
UK bans bet-on-lotto operators
In the UK, bet-on-lotto operators have, from the start, been prohibited from taking bets on the national lottery there and will, from next Thursday, be banned from taking bets on the EuroMillions (www.euro-millions.com) draw. They cover the cost of big payouts through a complex formula of hedging and insurance.
There are said to be up to 15 such firms operating in the Irish market and the biggest one, Gibraltar-based Lottoland, allows customers to select numbers for the EuroMillions draws at a reduced price. However, Lottoland and three others have formed an alliance, which may seek a judicial review of the UK government’s decision on the EuroMillions draw.
Impact on good causes
The operator of the National Lottery here, Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) (www.lottery.ie), is understood to have met senior officials, including Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, to articulate its concern about the impact on good causes should these firms be allowed unfettered access to the Irish market.
It is not known how much of the National Lottery’s traditional player base is being lost to these operations, but Lottoland said recently it had seen a 200% jump in customer sign-ons last year.
© 2018 - Checkout Magazine by Maev Martin
