Faith Akpan on LinkedIn: #acala #ambassadors (2025)

The Illinois Lottery announces record sales for the first six months of FY24.If I am reading the press release correctly...for the first time in lottery history there were three billion dollar+ bloc lotto prizes available during the first six months of FY24.Can you imagine?Questions:One would expect huge increases in sales during the first six months compared to any previous FYs. Were there?And, substantial increases in the sales of all other lottery products due to free publicity and the millions of people walking into lottery retailers to buy bloc lotto tickets sampling other products. Were there?Did the number of adults in Illinois registered to buy lottery tickets over the Internet increase during these historic prize events as people signed up to skip the lines and buy more tickets conveniently as the prizes increased by day? How many Illinois adults are registered to buy lottery tickets online as of today? What percentage of those registered to buy tickets online during these prize events did? Did both the number registered, and % who bought tickets during each of the three billion dollar+ prize events increase? By how many?Given Illinois' (choose your adjective) comparative performance metrics (reported in LaFleur's) how did the state do in the same period? Were we #1?Writing this as MegaMillions is $893 million for tonight's drawing. Powerball's is $687 million for tomorrow night. Both could easily hit $1 billion+ before the end of FY24.The most magical year in the history of lotteries.At the end of FY24 it will be interesting to see how a lottery run by a private company performs compared to state run lotteries like Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan.As the 'father' of the privatization idea, I'm mystified why private companies are not 1-2-3 in terms of sales, profits, innovation, and new technologies/games every FY given the restrictions imposed on state managers of lotteries.LaFleur's will publish comparative results eventually, so we shall see.P.S. - Who is buying $50 instant tickets?

The Illinois Lottery introduces a $50 instant ticket into the market.Discuss amongst yourselves in terms of good public policy/effective business practice:From IGB Magazine (2019):"Camelot UK Lotteries, operator of the UK’s National Lottery, has confirmed that it has stopped selling £10 category scratchcards as part of an effort to tackle problem gambling.Initial plans to withdraw its highest priced scratchcards were announced back in the summer, with the operator acknowledging that these particular games over-indexed among problem gamblers.Camelot instructed all of its retailers to remove these scratchcards from sale by 27 September, with any remaining stock returned to Camelot.The highest priced instant win National Lottery scratchcard games in UK shops are now £5.“Even though it’s widely acknowledged that the risk of problem play associated with our games is very low, player protection has always underpinned the way we run the National Lottery,” a Camelot spokesperson told iGamingBusiness.com.“We believed this was the right thing to do to help protect the very small minority of players concerned (less than 1% of all National Lottery players). We worked closely with our regulator, the Gambling Commission, on this at the time and are pleased that it welcomed the action we took.”"£20 equals $25. Half the cost of a $50 instant lottery ticket. What is the target market for $50 instant tickets? Who is buying them in other lottery states? Has there been any consumer research done based on the UK Lottery's concerns? Has any consumer research been done on/published who is buying them in the United States?Do they over index among core players? Among the ethnic poor? Among higher income existing players? Do they attract new players?It's interesting that I asked the same questions of our Private Manager when similar high priced instant tickets were proposed in one of their business plans...Interesting in that there was no research, sales forecasts, nor analyses available.https://lnkd.in/dkT-bMX8

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Everything You Need to Know About Mahzooz#Mahzooz is a hugely popular weekly lottery draw in the United Arab Emirates that offers participants the chance to win life-changing prizes. Since its launch, the Mahzooz draw has captured the attention of residents across the UAE who dream of striking it lucky. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Mahzooz, including how to participate, the latest results, and whether it’s permissible from an Islamic perspective. The concept behind Mahzooz is simple yet exciting. Every Saturday at 9:00 pm UAE time, a live draw is held where six winning numbers between 1 and 49 are selected. Participants who have purchased entries for the draw choose their own set of six numbers, and if their selection matches the winning combination, they claim a share of the prize pool. The top prize begins at a whopping AED 50 million and continues to grow each week until it is won, making it one of the largest lottery prizes available in the region.What sets Mahzooz apart from other lottery draws is its accessibility and affordability. For just AED 35, participants can purchase a line of numbers and enter the draw. This low entry cost makes it possible for a wide range of people to participate, from blue-collar workers to business professionals. Additionally, Mahzooz has made it incredibly easy to enter the draw, with options to purchase entries online through the official website or mobile app, as well as at various retail outlets across the UAE. The Mahzooz draw has become a weekly fixture for many across the UAE who hope to win big and transform their lives. With its huge prize pool and simple gameplay, it’s easy to understand Mahzooz’s widespread appeal. While the permissibility of participating in such lottery draws is a matter of personal religious interpretation, there’s no denying the excitement and anticipation the weekly Mahzooz live draw generates across the country. To stay up to date with the latest Mahzooz draw today and results, be sure to regularly check the official Mahzooz website or app.Abdulla Bin TouqWhat does the ministry think about this direction in the economy?Clones of your article in different languages thanks for our partners : Clones of your article in different languages:https://lnkd.in/ghSEzqCHhttps://lnkd.in/gcmx54pT Germanhttps://lnkd.in/gJqaF-e8 Frenchhttps://lnkd.in/gx22PSae Russianhttps://lnkd.in/gxYxyTyY Chinese#uae #mena #fintech #Crunchbase #in5 #dic #DubaiInternetCity #technology #b2b #startups Read more here👉👉👉

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🎉 Congratulations to Jackpocket and PVG LPs DraftKings Inc. announces they are acquiring digital lottery leader Jackpocket for $750MJackpocket is the first licensed third-party lottery app in the United States and provides an easy, secure way to order official state lottery tickets.Press Release: https://lnkd.in/eUB5gnWuFrom day one, Jackpocket has been focused on a best-in-class digital lottery solution for its customers and State Lotteries. Founded in 2013, the Company's proprietary technology has become the gold standard for State Lotteries to transform paper tickets into a digital experience. The management team has built and developed a deep competitive moat against competitors in a highly regulated field. At the time of our investment, less than 10% of the United States lottery took place digitally. Representing a massive opportunity for customer adoption and digitalization for Jackpocket. In 2023, Jackpocket was downloaded 9x more than its closest competitor in the digital lottery app category (Source: Sensor Tower Estimates).The US Lottery Market is a big business. State Lotteries brought in sales of $191BN in 2021. Lottery games take in public money, and then use revenues to fund infrastructure programs and public education. Lottery Games in the United states paid out 67% of their receipts in prize money in 2021.We believe this transaction will be a great addition to market leader DraftKings as they look to cross-sell their sports book clients with lottery products - and introduce leading digital lottery products to its sports book clients.Jackpocket is currently available in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington D.C., and West Virginia.

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Punted: How media companies and big sport fought gambling reform — and won.Labor has taken a year to come up with regulation of gambling ads that pleases no-one. It's a sure sign media companies remain powerful.This article is an instalment in a new series, Punted, on the government’s failure to reform online gambling advertising via https://lnkd.in/gdC-vietThe You Win Some, You Lose More parliamentary report, chaired by Labor MP, Peta Murphy, recieved 12 months ago, and is still yet to deliver its response. A key recommendation in the report was a moderate and reasonable 3-year, phased-in ban on all gambling advertising.Alliance for Gambling Reform Interim CEO, Martin Thomas said gambling harm was a massive public health issue, linked to poor physical and mental health, poverty and homelessness, criminal activity, family violence, and suicide.Parents, in particular, are concerned about their children’s vulnerability to gambling advertising. More than a ¼ of all men aged 18-24 and a ⅓ of men aged 25-34 now bet on sport. Young men are most at risk of falling into problem gambling – with close to 1 in 5 (17.5%) 18-24 year-olds who bet on sports, already defined as having a gambling problem.These are huge numbers, and they highlight how a predatory online gambling industry is ensnaring a whole new generation into gambling,” Sportsbet is the ⁦AFL⁩’s “sponsorship partner”.The AFL draws huge revenues from gaming. It’s not healthy. It’s the dark side of the AFL.Tasmanian conversations include building houses for our homeless youth, which is argued to be much more important than building corporate AFL boxes in a stadium Tasmanian's feel they can not afford.Sportsbet, is AFL’s betting partner, and is a listed Tasmanian Liberal Party donor. According to Homes Tasmania, there were at least 1,712 instances of children and young people aged 8 to 17 presenting unaccompanied to specialist homelessness services in Tasmania in 2023.A new study from Mission Australia backs the experiences of Colony 47 and recent findings from Tasmania's Commissioner for Children and Young People.Mission Australia (TAS) said its report The Unfair Divide "highlighted the profound impact that homelessness can have on a young person's wellbeing and the need for early intervention and prevention programs to stop young people from becoming homeless in the first place"."In Tasmania, young people aged 12 to 24 make up a ¼ of all people experiencing homelessness," Mr Stopczynski said.Our future wellbeing, needs us to make better decisions.Should Gambling lobby groups be prohibited from donating to political parties and grants for community groups?LE: A culture of gambling, in my maternal family's side, underpinned the multi-generational family violence, and was the trigger for my unaccompanied homelessness.#HomelessnessWeek2024 #GamblingHarms #SaveourChildren

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Rush to buy Vietlott lottery tickets as the Jackpot 1 prize reaches nearly 170 billion VND and still no one winsVietlott lottery tickets heat up as the value of Jackpot 1 can exceed VND 170 billionAfter many consecutive draws without winning tickets, the accumulated value of Jackpot 1 – the Power 6/55 type of Vietlott lottery tickets – has reached VND 164 billion as of March 5th.With the value of this prize, many people are hoping to be the jackpot winners and are rushing to buy Power 6/55 lottery tickets.Recorded at some Vietlott ticket sales points in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of March 5th, customers continuously entered and exited, buying lottery tickets quite bustlingly. Many people said they are hoping to win Jackpot 1, if not, they could win Jackpot 2 with a prize amount of over VND 6 billion.Mr. Thuong (Phu Nhuan district, Ho Chi Minh City) said that for about a week now, every day he has been buying 5 Power 6/55 lottery tickets on the Vietlott application, each ticket costs VND 10,000 and some tickets are bundled in sets of 7 or 8 (tickets with 7 and 8 pairs of numbers), but luck has not come his way yet.“In addition, I also buy tickets directly at the store with hundreds of thousands of dong to increase the chances of winning Jackpot 1,” Mr. Thuong said.According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Bao, Head of the Sales Department of a level 2 agency under Vietlott, on draw days of the Power 6/55 lottery (every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday), customers buying tickets are very crowded. Especially when the value of Jackpot 1 exceeds VND 150 billion.“On the days of lottery draws for the Power 6/55 lottery, the average sales volume of 40 ticket sales points under my agency nearly doubles,” Mr. Bao said.Data from Vietlott also shows that after recent draws without any winning tickets, the value of Jackpot 1 has been accumulated in the past few days, ranging from 5-10 billion dong each draw. This shows that the demand for Vietlott lottery tickets is increasing. It is predicted that in the draw for the Power 6/55 lottery tonight on March 5th, the value of Jackpot 1 will exceed VND 170 billion.The post Rush to buy Vietlott lottery tickets as the Jackpot 1 prize reaches nearly 170 billion VND and still no one wins appeared first on xe.today.

Last week we launched our Azam Football Club affinity card backed by AzamPesa's mobile money wallet. Here my colleague ibrahim malando, CEO of AzamPesa, explains the benefits of the card including:- Stadium entry / discounts on Azam FC merchandise- Interoperability with all government administered N-Card terminals including national stadium, ferry and related mobility services- All services associated with a mobile money wallets in #Tanzania including P2P transfer, bill payments, government payments, cash in, cash out and other services- community membership information that allows Azam FC to better communicate and reach out to its fanbase with promotions and offersIt is the first fully functional, integrated affinity card for a football club backed by a functional mobile wallet in Tanzania. You can use the card to tap and pay or use the same integrated wallet via smartphone app or USSD. All the functionality above can also be extended to any community club or membership organization including other football clubs, mosques, churches and schools. We believe the tap card solution backed by AzamPesa can play a big role in facilitating quick, easy and secure transactions for consumers while creating flexible loyalty programs for organizations.DM if interested in deploying an AzamPesa community card for your organization.#mobilemoney #mobilewallet #africa #innovation #digitalpayments #payments #loyaltyprograms

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Tom Kacich | Regressive? How about the state lottery? The Decatur News-Gazette May, 5,2024Like the salmon returning to Capistrano (what movie?), this story is easily researched and appears every few years. The industry will bluster and deflect, but it is the ultimate result of decades of marketing, prize structure design and game strategies.Strategies and tactics designed to maximize expenditure by an ever smaller, aging group of existing players. 'Players'...look at the agendas of almost every lottery industry meeting, or the table of contents of many industry publications and count the number of times 'our players' is the subject discussed. Never why 'our players' during a billion dollar bloc lotto prize aren't 'our players' after the prize is won.I wonder what would happen if lotteries and their vendors expended the same effort and money on maximizing the total number of people who play lottery games? You know: look at the disparity between the percentage of adults in lottery jurisdictions who self report that they are open to buying lottery tickets, 80+%, and the percentage of adults who report in consumer research surveys ((ILR National Monthly Surveys) that they buy lottery tickets once a week or more, <16%.This article reports what the impact of directed marketing, increases in prize percentage payout, and game designs have on the poor. Sidebar:It's obvious, over many years, that compensating vendors based on a percentage of sales, logical at the beginning of lotteries when enabling legislation mandated 50% prize payouts for all games, became seriously flawed and created misaligned incentives when payouts on lottery games reach 90% and attempt to compete with casino games.It's why lottery profitability has dropped precipitously from 40% of sales to less than 25% in many jurisdictions. And, why actual revenue to the state for education, the elderly, veterans has not kept up with inflation in terms of real dollars.The whole idea behind Illinois privatization was to compensate a Private Manager by generously sharing increased profitability. Finally, aligning the state and the vendor compensation based on why the state has a lottery.Has Illinois' Private Manager ever reached the negotiated level of profits in any FY that trigger performance bonuses?I don't know.End of sidebar.Read the article, and discuss amongst yourselves.https://lnkd.in/e5u9u4Pb

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