Lottoland opens games to Australians
Gibraltar-based online lottery firm Lottoland hopes to get a piece of the Australian lottery industry by opening its games to Aussie players. According to the Asia Gaming Brief, Lottoland is taking advantage of a five-year wagering license granted to the company by the Northern Territory government.
“Australia’s lotteries industry is ripe for a revolution,” Lottoland Australian CEO Luke Brill told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We’re doing a similar thing to the lotteries industry like Uber is doing to the taxi industry. It’s a disruptive product.”
Tatts now runs every lottery Down Under except the state-run lottery in Western Australia. The company earned more than $2 billion in revenue in 2015 from its lotteries division, reported AGB.
In recent weeks, the Lottoland website crashed as Australians tried to get in on a record-breaking $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot.
“We’ve struck it lucky,” Brill said. “We are hopeful those customers will stay with us and look at Australian products.”
It won’t be that easy, said CLSA gaming analyst Sacha Krien. “We expect Tatts to challenge Lottoland’s use of any existing trademarks, as well as any copyright associated with their lottery products. Alternatively, Tatts and the states could seek federal legislation on lotteries, overriding Northern Territory law.”
This is the first time Australians have been able to join global lottery pools.
