Online lottery betting operator Lottoland is looking to stir up the hornet’s nest with a provocative advertising blitz ahead of Melbourne Cup Day.
The Gibraltar-based operator had been under fire a lot lately as local lottery newsagents and lottery operator Tatts Group Ltd. launched an attack against “fake lotteries” that gobbled up much of their revenues.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald report, Lottoland will be coming out of its self-imposed marketing restraint by peppering TV and radio airwaves with advertisements leading to the Melbourne Cup Day.
Lottoland is set to introduce its latest campaign, “The Jackpot That Stops The Nation”, which it says will give gamblers the chance to win a $100 million “jackpot” on Melbourne Cup Day.
“Australia’s best racehorses will compete for $6 million on the first Tuesday of November,” Lottoland said in a statement. “[B]ut Lottoland customers will have the chance to win a much more lucrative prize betting on Oz Lotto.”
Throwing shade at their competitors, Lottoland’s Australian chief executive, Luke Brill, pointed out that “this jackpot is just another reason why Australians continue to flock to Lottoland.”
“Our innovative business model gives Australians more choice, bigger jackpots and faster payouts than ever before,” he said.
Somehow, the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association is already not amused with Lottoland’s newest campaign.
The group quickly disputed Lottoland’s use of the word “jackpot,” saying that the firm does not operate lotteries.
Lottoland Australia’s Northern Territory-licensed site doesn’t offer traditional lottery ticket sales, only the opportunity to place wagers on the outcome of lottery draws, with winning bets paying the same prizes offered by official lotteries.
“Australians must remember, that despite its misleading name and misrepresented products, Lottoland does not operate lotteries,” the group said, “and any attempts to appear as a lottery are deceptive and alternative facts.”
