“The success of the Lottery over the past three decades has been truly remarkable,” stated Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. “To be approaching nine hundred million dollars in returned dividends to the public schools and permanent buildings of Idaho in just thirty years has certainly exceeded the expectations of those who created the Lottery in 1989.”

President and CEO Olli Sarekoski: ”In 2018 Veikkaus prepared for major changes in its operating environment. Gaming is shifting from the points of sale towards the digital channel, where Veikkaus also faces competition from foreign operators. Veikkaus must develop its operations to succeed in international competition. Succeeding in the competition and ensuring our ability to channel gaming also provide the basis for the exclusive right and its continuation. We want to be able to provide games responsibly even in the future, minimizing game-related harm and channelling gaming revenue to the benefit of Finnish people.

“The Iowa Lottery looks forward to continuing to work with IGT to enhance our portfolio of instant-ticket games to support our growth,” said Iowa Lottery Executive Vice President Larry Loss.

“We’re happy to continue our nearly 50-year tradition of solid contributions to the state of Connecticut with another strong period of sales and transfers to the state’s General Fund,” said Greg Smith, President and CEO, CT Lottery. “In the next half of the year, the CT Lottery plans to implement additional innovations and upgrades that will bolster our first-half successes. And we do this hand-in-hand with our nationally recognized responsible gaming efforts.”

“The Virginia Lottery represents good fun for a great cause, and our players are helping us build another record year of support for Virginia’s public schools,” said Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall. “We’re proud of the continuing popularity of our broad mix of games and prizes. We’re also seeing success in our efforts to use new technology to make our products more convenient and fun for consumers.”

State Treasurer Deb Goldberg. With far more at stake, she's been lobbying the Legislature to allow Lottery sales online -- and warning lawmakers of the consequences if they continue to resist. The tax benefits for the state's cities and towns in Governor Baker's bill pales to those supplied by the Lottery, in the form of nearly $1 billion annually in local aid. But like the governor, Goldberg wants to stay ahead of the revenue curve, and that means exposing the Lottery's offerings to a new, younger audience, which an online presence will do.

Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski says the cuts are necessary because of intensifying digital competition and business shifting onto digital channels.

"We had a record year," says Jannie. Haek, CEO of the National Lottery presenting the results of the public company in 2018. "Despite the liberalization of the sector in 2011, we are experiencing sustainable growth that demonstrates the confidence that consumers have in the Lottery." Jannie Haek says he is "proud" of the results earned in a very open market, not regulated enough and where private competitors grow by 1 billion euros per year.

The Lottery states that "for more than 70 years, the Work has donated nearly 400 million euros to charities. On average, on 1 € bet by a player, 25 cents come back to good causes.

For Stéphane Pallez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FDJ Group : "The continued growth in player stakes reflects the good execution of our FDJ 2020 strategy around areas such as innovation and digital, enhancing the appeal of our games and distribution channels. 2018 has been characterised by numerous successes, notably Mission Patrimoine games, illustrating FDJ’s redistribution model. These results underpin our ambition to anticipate changes in the gaming and entertainment sector to increase the Group's leadership with richer and innovative gaming experiences”.