Michigan Lottery Launches Pollard Banknote's New Power Bingo WebPlay® Interactive Game Guaranteed to Call Out the Word S-A-L-E-S!

WINNIPEG, Dec. 7, 2015 /CNW/ - Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) ("Pollard Banknote"), a leading lottery partner that provides instant tickets, interactive solutions, and marketing support, is excited to congratulate the Michigan Lottery on the launch of its latest interactive product—the Power Bingo app. Developed by Pollard Banknote, the new app has a refreshed look and game play that rivals the design standards of the most popular mobile Bingo apps. The Power Bingo app is the company's latest interactive and technology-enabled 'Space Between' product that adds an interactive component to support instant tickets at retail.

The app offers more ways to win, with multipliers and instant wins with more prizes, including Players Club points and dollars off coupons that all add to the anticipation and excitement of the game. The new app also has improved technology, built to give players the ability to not only play on the mobile app or desktop computer, but also on a mobile browser. This widens the choice for how players access their favorite Bingo game. The new landscape orientation gives players a widened view of up to two cards in play, call numbers at the top of the screen and a condensed call history diagram. A bright blue background, fun music and playful sound effects all contribute to the overall game experience.

The Power Bingo app is the Lottery's latest WebPlay® game, an innovation created by Pollard Banknote to add value to instant tickets while supporting brick-and-mortar retailers. These games extend the life of instant scratch tickets by providing a dynamic, interactive game that is tied to an instant ticket and played on a lottery's website or through a mobile app. Since the launch of the first WebPlay® game in January 2012, more than 34 million WebPlay® games have been played. These games have been proven sales drivers for the associated tickets at retail, and are a way to engage the younger demographic.

Both the app and the web-based versions can also be played for fun without the purchase of an instant scratch ticket. Since the play style of the interactive game closely matches the play style of the instant ticket, this play-for-fun option gives players the opportunity to try Power Bingo before they buy it—a proven way to effectively increase positive purchasing decisions.

The Michigan Lottery was the first to launch a WebPlay® game—Cashword—first as a $3 ticket, but over time, the Lottery's Cashword family has expanded to include the $5 and $10 price points. With each new launch, Pollard Banknote enhanced the interactive game with added play features and new graphics. The sales results have been outstanding. With each new Cashword addition, each price point in the family has experienced significant growth in sales. Since the first Cashword app was offered in 2012, overall crossword sales have grown from approximately $119 million to $156 million in 2015, an increase of 31%! The Lottery's Cashword game also won the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries' Best New Instant Game of the Year in 2012. Taking a lesson from the Crossword category, lotteries can introduce the new Power Bingo app to rejuvenate the Bingo category, which, in many jurisdictions has experienced growth challenges over the past few years.

 "At Pollard Banknote, we focus on developing innovations that will drive sales and attract younger players. Our WebPlay® games extend the play value of an instant ticket with the understanding that technology—especially mobile technology—is an integral part of people's lives," said Nancy Bettcher, Vice President, Product Innovation & Development. "The statistics support the importance of the mobile channel. Three-fifths of games played for fun are played on mobile. Research shows that the 18-to-34 demographic accounts for about 60% of WebPlay® app downloads. For all of these reasons, we anticipate that the Power Bingo app will prove to be very appealing to the Michigan Lottery's players."

The Michigan Lottery is on a fast-growing list of lotteries that areengaging players with Pollard Banknote's WebPlay® interactive games and apps, including those in Idaho, Maryland, California, Kansas, and Québec.

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]