LottoGopher Holdings Inc LTTGF

Another reportage/testamonial

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On an average trip to a convenience store, Americans collectively spend billions of dollars on everything from food to gasoline, but where many people leave money on the table without realizing it, is unclaimed lottery winnings.

In fiscal 2017 alone, there were 167 prizes worth $1 million or more that went unclaimed and there were $2.89 billion in unclaimed lottery prizes in the 12 months ending June 2017. Most of those winnings will remain unclaimed as many states only give ticket holders six months to come forward to claim their prize.

With people’s busy lives, it’s often the case that a ticket can be bought and forgotten about among the scraps of paper that clutter our lives. There might be a mention of unclaimed winnings from a big jackpot in the news, but it’s not often that most winnings are mentioned. On average, most people take up to 12 days or more to come forward, even if they are well aware they’ve won.

It’s all part of the overall game of playing the lottery, which is a part of many people’s modern lives as it was when it was first written of in recorded history back during the days of the Roman empire. However, part of playing involves physically going to the store, paying cash for the tickets and keeping track of any winnings. With everything else that has been streamlined and transitioned online, the lottery isn’t one of them.

That’s the mission behind lottery messenger and subscription service LottoGopher Holdings Inc. (CSE: C.LOTO, OTCQB: LTTGF, Forum) – To allow users a means to easily order and manage their official state lottery tickets online using a debit or credit card. The Company is targeting the 80-million Americans who already buy lottery tickets and make purchases online. LottoGopher offers a free tier, and three paid tiers ranging from $3 a day to $99 a year.

image: https://www.stockhouse.com/media/topstories/Misc/Lotto03.jpg

The money percolating in the U.S. lottery is bigger than any jackpot – $80 billion was spent on lottery tickets in the U.S. In 2016. That’s more than what was spent on movies, music, video games, sports tickets and books – combined.

Operating mainly in California, where people spent $6.3 billion on the lottery that year, LottoGopher’s app offers players a means to choose their numbers online when they order tickets for official drawings. It also has the ability to keep track of tickets and collect winnings, join public and private groups, as well as other member benefits:

• Order multiple tickets from various state lotteries
• Updates on drawings
• Access to expert player strategies
• Jackpot alerts
• Lottery news
• Lucky number pickers
• Winners' financial resources

Company President, CEO & Director James Morel took some time to speak with Stockhouse Editorial about what LottoGopher has learned as it started up its business in California.

Now the Company is taking that experience as it optimizes its services with its recent expansion to Texas and Virginia. This increase to its reach added to the LottoGopher userbase with a combined population of more than 74 million people across these three states with combined lottery ticket sales of $13 billion annually. Virginia and Texas are the first two states of a planned 20-state growth targeted over the course of this year.

States that become open to LottoGopher’s service can also benefit from its business structure. Since the Company orders the tickets from authorized retailers and alerts players to draws and jackpots, it allows lotteries, such as the two major games, Mega Millions and Powerball, to sell more tickets. As a third-party service, it works as a bridge between lottery companies and players.

Many people shop on impulse but there is still a disconnect when it comes to the lottery business. No matter how big a billboard advertises a massive jackpot, people still have to go to a store, often while running other errands, to purchase those tickets. In the modern world of instant shopping online, this is inconvenient but circumvented by LottoGopher’s unique platform to get any information about the latest happenings in the lottery world to people at large, on the go.
Those who miss important news on major jackpots run the risk of missing those jackpots, which have been known to be in excess of millions of dollars. It is such a common problem for lottery players that James Morel noted the Company based its promotional video around its solution. The system lets players know within hours of the drawing whether they have won and exactly how much.

“You will never have an unclaimed prize with us.” 



Another popular side of the lottery game is the office pool. All too often they lead to confusion in the workplace; any problem from a co-worker will collecting dollar bills, to people paying for other people or people not in the office can be settled through LottoGopher. The system takes over management and insurances, since the platform is digital it is also transparent. Players just put a ticket in the group and the winnings will be automatically split. Through LottoGopher’s subscription service, players can also be entered into draws automatically.

Besides these private groups, there are also public groups going on LottoGopher right now where people can play with up to a hundred others from anywhere in their state. Besides buying multiple tickets, this is mathematically the best way to increase the chances of winning – buy more shares of tickets and split the spoils.

LottoGopher has had a head-start in the U.S. lottery game thanks to its strategic partnership with Lottoland Ltd., an established lottery and sweepstakes Company based out of the British territory of Gibraltar. Regulatory restrictions aren’t as common in Europe and this has allowed for big business in this space.

Since launching in 2013, Lottoland brings in more than $355 million (USD) in annual sales and has generated 820% in revenue growth from 2012 to 2015. In taking its service from the U.K. to Australia and Germany, it has brought more than 6 million customers on board worldwide. It is also ranked as one of Europe’s fastest growing companies in the Financial Times’ FT1000 report for 2018.

This is a level of success that Lottoland wants to bring to the United States, but the regulatory environment is tricky. A Company must qualify in each state individually. Lotteries are run by 47 jurisdictions (44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Through it’s relationship with Lottoland, LottoGopher is able to leverage its experience and connections while being involved with an established operation that understands the regulatory environment internationally.

As part of this strategic investment, Lottoland’s general counsel Lloyd Lemon also serves on LottoGopher’s advisory board and is on-hand for every move it makes, right down to fine-tuning its search engine optimization (SEO). Together, LottoGopher can shortcut a lot of problems that Lottoland has already encountered.

image: https://www.stockhouse.com/media/topstories/Misc/Shat.jpg

Every top-tier product needs a trusted face to represent the brand. LottoGopher tapped one of the most recognizable actors of all time for a spokesperson – Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner.

James Morel adds that getting the renowned Hollywood actor is great for exposure and hopes he does for LottoGopher what he did as spokesperson for hotel booking business Priceline.com.

“He transcends generations, has amazing sense of humor, takes things seriously, knows how to joke about them. Lottery is supposed to be fun, not serious business, it’s fantasy. He’s in it for the $80 billion business but is also interested in the concept and how it is being executed.”

While the focus remains on offering a unique platform for the lottery space, LottoGopher has its eye on other businesses as it plans for an evolution of its operations. That evolution’s first steps were made with a $1 million (CAD) investment from LOTO to Kelowna, B.C.-based GreenTec Holdings. GreenTec identifies and consolidates licensed producers of craft cannabis brands. The team has been involved in every aspect of the industry — from financing, to operating and optimizing numerous Licensed Producers, with a proven track record successfully building, and listing multiple legal cannabis companies from across the country on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) & TSX Venture.

This move may appear out of left field from the lottery, but James Morel stated it will serve as an investment into an obviously hot sector, working as a supplement to boost LottoGopher’s bottom line. Using lucrative connections to make smart investments that offer returns is just good business.

“Put a million dollars to work and get a couple million back, it’s a great ancillary business.” 

The Company is discussing the investment with the CSE and will revisit it in the fall of 2018.

This evolution into other revenue streams, along with its ongoing expanse to bring its platform to more states, offers a unique jumping-on point for investors. LottoGopher Holdings Inc. is capitalizing on a service that is a long-time coming: The migration of ordering lottery tickets online. The wheels are already in motion on its growth within the multi-billion-dollar California market, as revenue comes in from the new Texas and Virginia markets. Over the next few months, more states will join LottoGopher’s lotto network, potentially boosting exposure of mega jackpots to a whole new crop of players and giving established players a new way to get their hands-on lottery tickets.
Read more at https://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2018/05/22/reinventing-u-s-lottery-game#rPgejhMCGyl1Ka1w.99