Pollard Banknote Launches iLottery Solution in Kansas

WINNIPEG, MB, Feb. 13, 2025 /CNW/ - Pollard Banknote Limited "Pollard Banknote"; (TSX: PBL) is pleased to congratulate the Kansas Lottery ("the Lottery") on the successful launch of its iLottery program, powered by the Pollard Catalyst™ Gaming Platform ("the Platform"), Pollard Banknote's cloud-native, modular, and API-first iLottery solution. The leadership and strong partnership of the Kansas Lottery, combined with Pollard Banknote's deep iLottery expertise, enabled today's launch to come only ten months after initial scoping, making this the fastest implementation of a full iLottery program in U.S. history.

Starting today, players in Kansas will be able to play popular draw-based games including Powerball® and Mega Millions®, and an initial offering of nine eInstant games from the Pollard Digital Games Studio on the Lottery's website at https://playonkansas.com. eInstants available at launch include Jayhawk Riches and Wildcat Riches, a pair of games customized for the market that celebrate the rivalry between the Kansas State University and University of Kansas athletic programs, and tie into the Rivalry Riches instant ticket currently in-market in Kansas. Additional draw-based games will be added soon, and new eInstant games will launch every two weeks to ensure the offerings remain fresh and exciting for Kansas players.

The iLottery solution builds on the Lottery's existing PlayOn® Loyalty Program, Pollard Banknote's proprietary loyalty solution. Existing PlayOn® members can easily join in the fun by upgrading their existing loyalty accounts. The Lottery launched PlayOn® in 2017, enabling players to earn points by submitting their retail tickets and completing other activities. Points can be redeemed for chances to win cash, experiential prizes, or free plays.

Pollard Banknote is providing comprehensive marketing support for Kansas' iLottery program, leveraging the Platform's Marketing Engagement Platform, powered by Bloomreach. Pollard Banknote's experienced iLottery marketing team will create and execute campaigns to support player acquisition and retention, and provide the Lottery with insightful, data-driven recommendations to responsibly maximize revenue for the State of Kansas while ensuring the integrity of all games. The Platform's deep integration with Bloomreach supports real-time action to engage players in a way that is personalized and relevant to them, ensuring higher levels of satisfaction with their playing experience.

"We're thrilled with how our team at the Kansas Lottery and Pollard Banknote have worked together to achieve this historic milestone. Pollard Banknote walked with us every step of the way, providing effective guidance at every decision point," said Stephen Durrell, Executive Director, Kansas Lottery. "Despite the inherent complexity of launching an iLottery program, the planning and implementation process went very smoothly, owing to the strength and flexibility of Catalyst and the comprehensive support from the team at Pollard Banknote. We really appreciate their leadership and their partnership."

"We greatly appreciate the confidence the Kansas Lottery has shown in us by being the first client to launch Catalyst," said Doug Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Pollard Banknote. "They have been excellent partners on the journey to today's launch, which represents the culmination of our decades of experience developing and operating iLottery systems in Europe and Canada. It also speaks to the success of the Pollard Digital Games Studio, whose eInstants are now available in many jurisdictions around the world. This launch solidifies our position as the lottery partner of choice across all channels."

In addition to the features mentioned above, the turnkey iLottery solution includes a complete Player Account Management system that provides the functionality required for registration, age and identity verification, wallet transactions, and responsible gaming features. Geolocation services are provided through Pollard Banknote's proprietary GeoLocs™ technology. Pollard Banknote is additionally providing a suite of business services including marketing, draw operations, risk management, and a player support center.

Since the Kansas Lottery's start up in November 1987, through June 30, 2024, lottery ticket sales have produced more than $2.2 billion in revenues transferred to the State of Kansas. In that same time period, nearly $4.4 billion worth of prizes have been paid to players, and retailers have earned more than $450 million in commissions. The Lottery's fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, 2024, produced almost $338 million in sales and more than $88 million transferred to the State. Funds generated by the Kansas Lottery go toward supporting economic development initiatives, prison construction and maintenance projects, local juvenile detention facilities, problem gambling assistance, and the State General Fund.

About Pollard Banknote

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high-quality instant ticket products, licensed games, in-lane ticket options, and sales-driving merchandising solutions from its Schafer Retail Solutions + portfolio. It also offers a full suite of digital offerings, ranging from world-class game apps to comprehensive player engagement and iLottery solutions, including strategic marketing and management services. 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 provides pull-tab tickets, bingo paper, ticket vending machines, and its Diamond Game and Compliant Gaming electronic games and devices to charitable and other gaming markets in North America.  Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 64% by the Pollard family and 36% by public shareholders, and is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (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

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, E-mail: [email protected]; Rob Rose, Chief Financial Officer, E-mail: [email protected]; John Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, E-mail: [email protected]; Pollard Banknote Limited, Telephone: [phone]