

lottery
North Carolina Education Lottery Extends Fastest Growing Instant Game Program in U.S. with Scientific Games
Successful Partnership Positions Lottery for Future Growth to Benefit North Carolina Students, Serves as Model for World Lotteries
Scientific Games and the North Carolina Education Lottery have extended their partnership behind the fastest-growing instant scratch game program in the U.S. based on year-over-year growth. The partnership has propelled the NCEL to the No. 6 ranked lottery in the world for instant game performance (La Fleur’s 2022 Almanac per capita sales) and gained attention as the model for U.S. and international lotteries. The Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership helped responsibly grow NCEL Scratch-Off sales from $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2017 to $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2022. With this partnership, Scientific Games provides portfolio management across the Lottery’s entire scratch game offerings.
The Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership with NCEL began in 2017, aligning the Lottery for future growth to support education across North Carolina, including school construction and scholarships for students attending in-state colleges and universities.
Mark Michalko, NCEL Executive Director, said, “Our partnership with Scientific Games helps the N.C. Education Lottery achieve its goals, and we look forward to continuing our good work together. Last year, the success of scratch-off sales helped to raise $929 million to support education programs in North Carolina. We are aligned in our approach to maximize responsible growth in the coming years. Scratch-off games are the most popular games played in North Carolina and we look for continued success in our ongoing partnership with Scientific Games.”
Through the Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership, the company helps NCEL optimize its product portfolio through portfolio management and game design services, data-driven analytics, advanced logistics, licensed brand services, and retail sales and marketing support. The program is used by more than 20 lotteries, including six of the Top 10-performing instant game lotteries worldwide (La Fleur’s 2022 World Lottery Almanac).
John Schulz, President of Americas and Global Instant Products for Scientific Games, said, “The North Carolina Education Lottery is a great example of how Scientific Games and a lottery can partner on instant games to optimize the product portfolio and generate maximum revenues to benefit residents in the state. The program in North Carolina is a model for the world’s lotteries.”
With products generating more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider in the world. The company provides retail and digital games, technology, analytics and services to 130 lotteries in 50 countries around the globe, including nearly every North American lottery.
Evoplay
Evoplay enters Peru’s lottery vertical through a partnership with Loterías Torito

Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has partnered with Loterías Torito, one of the authorised operators of lottery games in Peru, to supply a tailored portfolio of instant win games.
The collaboration will see five of Evoplay’s most popular instant games, including Adrenaline Rush, Adrenaline Rush: Scratch, Penalty Shoot–out: Street, B–Ball Blitz, and Hockey Shootout, launch on Loterías Torito’s platform. Each title has been localised and tailored to meet the lottery’s regulatory standards and responsible gaming objectives.
Operating both online and across retail locations, Loterías Torito is a trusted name in the Peruvian lottery sector. Its blend of traditional lottery products and digital offerings makes it an ideal partner for Evoplay’s instant game portfolio, which is designed to attract a broader, mobile-first audience.
Breaking into the lottery space marks a significant achievement for Evoplay, following their strategy to expand its presence in regulated markets across Latin America, delivering localised content and tailored solutions to forward-thinking lottery operators.
Frank Cecchini, Head of Lottery at Evoplay, said: “We are immensely proud to be working with Loterías Torito. “I firmly believe our content can bridge the gap between lottery players and online gamers, helping drive revenue in a safe, responsible, and engaging way.”
José Ludeña Díaz, Director of Operations at Loterías Torito, added: “Evoplay’s games are one of a kind. They’re innovative, high-quality, and exactly what we need to appeal to new generations of players while staying true to our mission and values.”
The post Evoplay enters Peru’s lottery vertical through a partnership with Loterías Torito appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Brightstar Lottery
Brightstar Lottery Completes Sale of its Gaming & Digital Business

International Game Technology PLC, doing business as Brightstar Lottery, announced it has completed the sale of its Gaming & Digital business to a holding company owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc. on July 1, 2025. Effective July 2, 2025, Brightstar began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under its business name, Brightstar Lottery, and new ticker symbol, BRSL. The Company’s CUSIP will not change, and no action is needed from current stockholders.
“The sale of the Gaming & Digital business positions Brightstar for an exciting future. The balanced allocation of proceeds to significantly reduce debt and return substantial capital to shareholders, in addition to funding investments in growth and improving ongoing shareholder returns, reflect the Board’s continuing commitment to enhance shareholder value,” said Marco Sala, Executive Chair of Brightstar.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for the Company, one that builds on a long legacy of delivering responsible, sustainable solutions through our products, services, technology, and insights. I am extremely proud of the Brightstar team, whose future-forward mindset and commitment to innovation serving lottery customers around the world are the foundation of the Company’s strong financial position and predictable cash flows,” said Vince Sadusky, CEO of Brightstar.
The Company received approximately $4.0 billion of net cash proceeds that are expected to be allocated in the following manner:
• $2.0 billion used for previously disclosed contractual commitment to reduce debt:
• Redeem in whole the 4.125% Senior Secured U.S. Dollar Notes due April 2026 and the 3.500% Senior Secured Euro Notes due June 2026.
• €300 million to prepay the Term Loan Facilities due January 2027.
• Remaining amount allocated to prepay the Revolving Credit Facilities due July 2027.
• $1.1 billion to be returned to shareholders:
• The Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend to common stockholders in the amount of $3.00 per share. The record date of the distribution is July 14, 2025, and it will be payable on July 29, 2025.
• In addition, the Board authorized a $500 million, two-year share repurchase program. The new authorization replaces the Company’s existing share repurchase program.
• $500 million to partially fund upcoming Italy Lotto license payments.
• $400 million to be used for general corporate purposes.
The Company intends to maintain a strong balance sheet with target net debt leverage (net debt/last twelve months (LTM) Adjusted EBITDA) around 3.0x supported by robust cash flow generation. Pro forma for the transaction, approximately $100 million of residual post-closing transaction costs, the full upfront payments associated with the new Italy Lotto license, and the $1.1 billion of capital returned to shareholders, net debt leverage as of March 31, 2025, was 3.5x.
The post Brightstar Lottery Completes Sale of its Gaming & Digital Business appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Latest News
New Research Shows Public Want National Lottery to Do More to Help People Experiencing Gambling Harms

GambleAware has published a new research which shows that three in four members of the public want the National Lottery to do more to help people experiencing gambling harms. The charity is urging the National Lottery provider, Allwyn UK, to direct people to help and support available. Unlike other charity lotteries the National Lottery does not currently signpost to support on its advertising.
The research is based on figures from GambleAware’s forthcoming Annual Treatment and Support Survey 2024, a nationally representative online survey of almost 18,000 adults over the age of 18, conducted by YouGov. It found that the majority of the public (84%) agree that the National Lottery is a form of gambling, with almost half (46%) disagreeing that the National Lottery products are harmless. The research also found that almost three quarters (74%) of the public agree that the National Lottery should signpost people to support for gambling harm on its products. Similar research in 2023 also found that almost seven in 10 (69%) of the public also agree that National Lottery adverts should sign post to GambleAware “like other gambling adverts do”.
GambleAware is calling on the National Lottery to signpost people to gambling support services on its advertising as well as products such as tickets, scratchcards, and online instant win games. Unlike other charity lotteries, the National Lottery does not currently signpost to support on its advertising, making it an outlier in this respect.
The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee also recommended in 2022 that the National Lottery should signpost to gambling support services, such as GambleAware, but this has not been implemented.
National Lottery products are used by millions of people each week and reach far more people experiencing gambling harms than any other gambling brand. Previous research from GambleAware found there could be up to 600,000 people experiencing “problem gambling” who take part in the National Lottery draw.
“When I gave up gambling and self-excluded myself from places I could gamble, the one thing I couldn’t bar myself from was playing the lottery in shops. When I got a craving in my early recovery, I bought £450 worth of scratch cards.
“I later moved on to buying online scratch cards, which look like fruit machines and make sounds. There was a big jackpot where you could win a million pounds so I was really lured into those and was spending a lot. I know other people experiencing gambling harm who have had similar experiences with the National Lottery, so putting information on tickets and scratch cards about where people can get support would help so much,” a woman with lived experience of gambling harm said.
“I registered on the National Lottery app, and I got a bit of a habit with the instant scratch cards on there because they make it so easy for you to play… it did lead me into financial difficulty; I wasn’t able to buy food for about a week because I’d spent the food shopping money on scratch cards,” a respondent to GambleAware’s Annual Treatment and Support Survey said.
The National Lottery’s reach amongst those experiencing gambling harm means it has a critical role to play in preventing and reducing gambling harm. This alongside its popularity and public trust in its brand, means that measures taken by the National Lottery operator to improve signposting across its products and advertising could have a substantial positive impact.
Andy Boucher, GambleAware Chair of Trustees, said: “We recognise the great work the National Lottery has done supporting a range of worthy causes over many years. In the public’s mind, it is there to do good in the community, and so we believe it is also the right thing for it to look after the people who play the National Lottery. Allwyn, the National Lottery’s current operator, has previously stated that ‘player safety is our top priority’ and it must live up to those words and play a critical role in protecting people from gambling harms, which are a serious public health issue that can drive societal inequalities, worsen mental health issues, and increase pressure on our over-burdened health system.
“This is why we are calling for clearer signposting on the National Lottery’s products and advertising. The signposting we want to see is already a minimum standard across other charity lotteries, and we believe that it is only right that the National Lottery adopts them, as an organisation whose purpose is to benefit good causes and have a positive effect on society.”
Ian Semel, CEO of one of the National Gambling Support Network treatment providers, Breakeven, said: “At Breakeven we have over 20 years’ experience of delivering help and support to anyone affected by gambling-related harms. We are proud to be an integral member of the National Gambling Support Network and offer services across the East of England, and Kent and Sussex in the South East of England, with instant access to treatment and support without any waiting times.
“Around 11% of clients who came to us for support in 2024 disclosed that the National Lottery or scratch cards were causing them gambling harm. Therefore we have joined the call for the National Lottery to signpost to support services like us as it is crucial for people to be able to access support as soon as they recognise they may be starting to experience gambling harms.”
The post New Research Shows Public Want National Lottery to Do More to Help People Experiencing Gambling Harms appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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