Lottoland defines operations in corrective notice
Lottoland has released a corrective notice in response to the court proceedings brought fourth by the Tatts Group.
Lottoland shook the money tree when it changed up its marketing strategy this year, offering Australians the chance to participate in international lotteries, including the $US1.5 billion ($AUD2.2 billion) Powerball draw in the US earlier this year.
Tatts, which is in the midst a potential merger with Tabcorp, sent a letter to Lottoland questioning its legal and intellectual property rights and now Lottoland has released a response to the allegations the operator was engaging in “misleading or deceptive conduct” since it allows punters to bet on the outcome, rather than buying an actual lottery ticket.
The response explains it’s not a lottery operator, but a bookmaker, and punters can’t purchase the tickets via the LottoLand website as they would on the Tatts website.
“Instead, customers place a bet with Lottoland on the outcome of the underlying lorry draw,” it says in the response, available on the Lottoland website.
“Lottoland is licensed in Australia by the Northern Territory as a sports bookmaker to take bets on the lotteries.
“Lottoland passes this bet to EU Lotto which is a bookmaker based in Gibraltar.”
The response also refers to the unauthorised use of QuickPick which is a trademark of the Tatts Group.
“Lottoland has removed references to that trademark from its website,” the response reads.
Earlier in the year, Lottoland’s Australian chief executive, Luke Brill, said he’s aware competitors aren’t welcoming the operator with open arms.
“The incumbents are not big fans of us and we understand that,” said Mr Brill.
“But my view is the global lottery market is crying out for innovation.
“Half the population play the lotteries and in that sense it is much bigger than sports betting – but it’s been a sleeping giant in lots of jurisdictions including Australia.”
Lottoland also faced backlash back in August when it released an ad campaign involving an elderly woman buying a Lottoland ticket from a newsagent and being told to play on the Internet instead.
Australian newsagent newsXpress’s, Mark Fletcher, wrote to the company claiming the ad “disrespects the intelligence of Australians.”
“Your ad denigrates our channel, those who own the businesses and the thousands of families that rely on our businesses for food on the table and clothing on their backs,” he said in the letter.
Punters can wager on Australian and international lotteries at Lottoland and if they win the jackpot Lottoland pays the equivalent of the prize money, similar to if the customer had purchased a ticket for the draw.