Vermont Lottery Sees Frogger Instant Scratch Game Leaping Off the Shelves

WINNIPEG, April 8, 2015 /CNW/ - Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) ("Pollard Banknote") is pleased to announce the outstanding success of the Vermont Lottery's $5 Frogger instant scratch game.

Launched on January 23, 2015, Frogger has already become Vermont Lottery's highest-selling $5 instant scratch game. Frogger's game index was 172 after the first eight weeks, a record that outperforms all other Vermont instant games launched since 2010. This success re-confirms the enduring appeal of Konami's Frogger brand, three decades after the initial release of the iconic arcade game.

Launched in multiple jurisdictions across North America to rave reviews, Frogger is licensed by Konami Digital Entertainment ("KONAMI"), and is available to lotteries exclusively through Pollard Banknote.

Vermont Lottery's Frogger ticket offers players a chance to win up to $5,000 instantly, plus the opportunity to enter non-winning tickets into a second chance draw and play an interactive online Frogger game through the lottery's Players Club. The online leaderboard encourages a deeper level of interaction, enhancing the overall customer experience.

Combining the nostalgia of the timeless video game and its beloved Frogger character with proven high-appeal instant ticket designs, it's easy to see why this game is jumping off the shelves.

"Full credit to Vermont Lottery for making the $5 Frogger game so incredibly successful," said Sina Aiello, Vice President Marketing at Pollard Banknote. "Konami's Frogger brand has proven time and again in jurisdictions all over North America it can generate real excitement among players. The success is reflected at retail and in the participation rates we are seeing in the interactive game and second chance draws."

"Frogger is great for existing instant players and attracting newer players, especially those who like to play games online," said Greg Smith, executive director of the Vermont Lottery. "Our work with Pollard Banknote has helped make Frogger one of the biggest contributors to our instant game success. And that has helped us boost overall revenue for the benefit of the entire state of Vermont."

Pollard Banknote provides turnkey solutions and customized promotional support for a robust portfolio of licensed games. In addition to designing, programming, and printing the themed tickets, Pollard Banknote's integrated marketing strategies also include second-chance drawings, interactive games, retailer promotions, consumer launch events, advertising development, social media campaigns, point of sale materials, and 'how to-play' videos.

About Vermont Lottery

Since the sale of its first ticket in February of 1978, the Vermont Lottery has produced over $1.6 billion in overall sales. From those sales, over $1 billion has been returned to players in the form of prizes. Over $91 million has gone back into the local communities and has been paid to local Lottery agents in the form of commissions. Since 1999, over $325 million has gone to the State of Vermont Education Fund.

About Konami Group

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher, and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. KONAMI's titles include the popular franchises METAL GEAR SOLID, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution, and Castlevania, among other top sellers. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiaries Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. in Windsor, UK. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. The latest information about Konami and details about the products it publishes can be found at http://www.konami.com.

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

Sina Aiello, Vice President, Marketing, Telephone: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]