Pollard Banknote’s Exclusive PlayBook® Achieves Texas-sized Success!

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, February 2, 2015 /CNW/ – Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) (“Pollard Banknote”)is pleased to congratulate the Texas Lottery Commission on the impressive sales results achieved in the launch of its first PlayBook^® instant ticket, a patented innovation provided exclusively by Pollard Banknote. Launched on October 19, 2014, for the holiday season, the $20 Holiday Game Book has made the Texas Lottery’s record book. In its first week, the game generated $5.3 million in sales—making it the top-seller among all instant games that week. By comparison, the Lottery’s $20 instant game launched for the 2013 holiday season sold $2.1 million in its first week. Strong sales continue: Holiday Game Book’s eight-week average sales were 48% more than the weekly average of all other $20 games launched in Texas since 2006.

The Pollard PlayBook^®—one of Pollard Banknote’s biggest tickets and one of its biggest sellers—was a logical addition to the Texas Lottery’s instant portfolio. With over $40 million in prizes, including a top prize of $1 million, Holiday Game Book was perfect as a stocking stuffer or a special way to treat oneself over the holiday season. The ticket art mixes festive, seasonal colors—reds and greens—with traditional winter whites and cool blues and features many familiar holiday images such as evergreen trees, decorations, gifts, and a reindeer. 

Pollard Banknote’s exclusive PlayBook^® brings multiple instant games together in a unique booklet format, and allows players to enjoy a wide variety of play experiences and a number of different games in a new, exciting way. The Holiday Game Book offers value: six games for $20. Including upcoming launches in 2015, 65 PlayBook^® games will have been launched in 20 jurisdictions around the world, with estimated retail sales of $1.3 billion.

“The Lottery’s decision to launch Holiday Game Book was driven by our goal to offer Texas Lottery players a new, innovative instant product, as well as the success of the PlayBook^® in other jurisdictions,” articulated Gary Grief, Executive Director, Texas Lottery. “We worked with Pollard Banknote to leverage learnings from previous PlayBook^® launches and put together a solid launch strategy. The concept has proven itself perfect for our $20 holiday ticket, and we are planning to offer it again next holiday season.”

“We at Pollard Banknote congratulate the Texas Lottery on the sales success of its first PlayBook^®. The Texas Lottery has taken this proven product and, with their own positioning, demonstrated that it can work very well as a feature holiday product,” commented Jennifer Westbury, Executive Vice President, Sales & Customer Development, Pollard Banknote. “It is always rewarding to see our innovative products helping to increase proceeds for good causes.”

The Texas Lottery is committed to generating revenue for the State of Texas through the responsible management and sale of entertaining lottery products while incorporating the highest standards of security and integrity. Beginning with the first ticket sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $22 billion in revenue. Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $17 billion to the Foundation School Fund to support public education in Texas, with over $1.2 billion contributed in fiscal year 2014. Since fiscal year 2010, a portion of Texas Lottery proceeds also benefit the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. In FY 2014, the amount was $11.5 million.

About Pollard Banknote

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 50 lotteries worldwide, providing high quality instant ticket products, licensed games and strategic marketing and management services for both traditional instant games and the emerging iLottery space of web, mobile and social channels.  The company is a proven innovator and has decades of experience helping lotteries to maximize player engagement, sales, and proceeds for good causes.  Pollard Banknote also plays a major role in the charitable pull-tab and bingo markets in North America. Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 73.5% by the Pollard family and 26.5% by public shareholders and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). For more information, please visit our website at www.pollardbanknote.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking” statements and information, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this document, such statements include such words as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “plan,” and other similar terminology. These statements reflect management’s current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this document. There should not be an expectation that such information will in all circumstances be updated, supplemented, or revised whether as a result of new information, changing circumstances, future events, or otherwise.

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