Virginia Lottery Builds On Record-breaking 2015 Scratcher Sales With A Successful Start To FY 2016

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, October 20, 2015 /CNW/ – Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) (“Pollard Banknote”) and the Virginia Lottery are forging ahead in fiscal year 2016 with plans for new products and promotions, following a year in which the Lottery broke a record by selling more than $1 billion in Scratcher tickets for the first time in a single fiscal year. With first quarter Scratcher sales up by 5% compared to the same period last year, fiscal year 2016 is already off to a great start.

In 2015, record-setting sales of instant Scratcher tickets helped push total Virginia Lottery sales to more than $1.8 billion, allowing for all-time highs in prize payouts ($1.1 billion) and contributions to the state’s K-12 public schools ($534 million).

The Virginia Lottery attributed some of its record-breaking success to Pollard Banknote products such as Electric 8’s, a high-indexing $2 Scratcher game and Triple Cash Crossword, a $3 game featuring an exciting tripler feature that was developed based on ticket art, game mechanics, and other strategies that have proven successful in other jurisdictions.

Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula Otto said all signs point to another promising, potentially record-breaking year. The 2015 success was due to a number of factors, including sound business practices and the introduction of new and exciting games. Overall, Otto said the sales success was driven by the more than $1 billion in sales of Scratcher tickets, including a number of tickets created by Pollard Banknote.

“Many people think that our overall success is determined by all those headline-grabbing games like Mega Millions and Powerball,” Otto said. “In fact, it’s the steady sales of Scratcher tickets that has gotten us to where we are today. And Pollard Banknote has been a fantastic partner in helping us offer a dynamic range of popular games.”

Byron Peterson, Director, Sales & Marketing for Pollard Banknote, said the record-setting sales results are a testament to the Virginia Lottery’s capacity for innovation and creativity. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Virginia Lottery to help keep the sale of Scratcher tickets the major driving force behind its sales success,” Peterson said.

To help kick off fiscal year 2016, the Lottery launched Treasure Hunt in August 2015—a new addition to its popular portfolio of $5 games. After only eight weeks on the market, an impressive 80% of the tickets were sold and the game achieved a sales index of 151—making Treasure Hunt one of the most successful $5 games in recent history. In fact, the game has proven so successful that the Lottery is currently working with Pollard Banknote to develop a follow-up game featuring slight modifications in order to continue offering exciting play mechanics and theme options to players and carry on the success of Treasure Hunt in Virginia.

Pollard Banknote was awarded a five-year contract in October 2014 to be the primary supplier of Scratcher ticket printing and services. Peterson said Pollard Banknote will continue to offer strategic insights and product recommendations to the Lottery, along with promotional strategies based on “our deep industry knowledge and experience”.

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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