Arizona Lottery Extends Instant Ticket and Instant Tab Printing Contract with Pollard Banknote

WINNIPEG, Feb. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) ("Pollard Banknote") is pleased to announce a one-year extension to its Instant Printing and Production Services contract with the Arizona Lottery. Under this agreement, Pollard Banknote will continue to provide the Lottery with instant ticket and instant tab ticket printing and related services until January 14, 2017.

This extension continues Pollard Banknote's long-standing relationship with the Lottery that began 18 years ago. This relationship is a testament to the company's ability to foster enduring, cooperative, and mutually reliable relationships with its lottery partners, together fulfilling the common goal of increasing revenues and profits in support of good causes.

As the Arizona Lottery's main supplier of Bingo games, Pollard Banknote has helped grow category sales by 32% between 2010 and 2014, reaching a record-setting $42 million in total Bingo sales in fiscal year 2014. Pollard Banknote also produces the majority of the Lottery's Crossword games, with sales steadily trending up in this core category over the same time period. Overall, the Lottery has been able to leverage Pollard Banknote's second-to-none expertise in extended play games to develop and strengthen its Bingo and Crossword categories.

"Our relationship with Pollard Banknote began nearly two decades ago, and in that time we have achieved great success implementing many of the company's strategic recommendations," said Kevin Donnellan, Interim Lottery Director of the Arizona Lottery. "Most recently, we have worked with Pollard Banknote to lead the launch of our new Instant Tab program, selling instant tab tickets in age-restricted locations. We have worked closely with the company to grow both our instants sales and instant tab sales and will continue to explore new ways to offer our players even more value and excitement."

In addition to providing instant game and instant tab ticket printing to the Arizona Lottery, Pollard Banknote provides marketing support and strategic planning, research, design testing, and portfolio management. Pollard Banknote also provides warehousing and distribution of the Lottery's instant tab tickets, and was recently awarded a three-year contract (with two one-year extension options) for these services in September of 2015. With this new contract comes a new business opportunity for the Lottery. As a result of new legislation in the state, the Lottery is now licensing vendors and selling instant tab tickets in age-restricted locations, including bars and charitable organizations.

"We are very proud of our enduring partnership with the Arizona Lottery," said Jennifer Westbury, Executive Vice President, Sales & Customer Development, Pollard Banknote. "Through ongoing consultation, the Lottery has taken advantage of many of our print innovations over the years, including Scratch FX® and the recent launch of its inaugural PlayBook®—the $20 Big Money Game Book. We are excited to have the opportunity to continue working with the Lottery to offer the best services and produce the best games possible to generate revenues for a variety of state programs."

The Arizona Lottery operates entirely from the revenue it generates through the sale of its products. Since July 1981, the Arizona Lottery has paid out more than $5.8 billion in prizes to players, more than $3 billion in net funding to the state, and more than $686 million in commissions to retailers. Proceeds from sales of lottery tickets—nearly $3.4 million per week—fund a variety of state programs including economic and business development, education, environmental issues, and health and public welfare. In FY2014, the Lottery contributed $175.6 million to various state funds.

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.

SOURCE Pollard Banknote Limited

Doug Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Telephone: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; John Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Telephone: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; Rob Rose, Chief Financial Officer, Telephone: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]