Pollard Banknote Awarded Contract for Scratch Ticket Manufacturing and Services by the Texas Lottery

WINNIPEG, MB, Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) ("Pollard Banknote") is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract from the Texas Lottery Commission ("Texas Lottery") to provide Scratch Ticket Manufacturing and Services. The new contract, which extends the successful and collaborative partnership through 2034, includes the rollout of Pollard Banknote's ground-breaking easyVEND™ In-Lane ticket vending solution to retailers across the state. 

The new contract marks the debut of Pollard Banknote's proprietary easyVEND™ In-Lane ticket vending solution, revolutionizing the way traditional scratch tickets are made available for purchase. By combining innovative technology and security with an eye-catching merchandising display, easyVEND™ allows players to conveniently add traditional scratch tickets to an existing transaction within a multi-lane retail environment. With easyVEND™, the Texas Lottery can now leverage new sales avenues to grow revenues for the good causes it supports.

As collaborative partners for over two decades, Pollard Banknote and the Texas Lottery have worked closely to develop many stunning and cutting-edge lottery products that engage players and generate returns for good causes throughout Texas. The Texas Lottery has experienced extraordinary success in recent years, with FY 2022 being no exception—Lottery sales reached $8.297 billion, marking the 12^th consecutive year of record-breaking sales! Scratch ticket sales were a key component of that success, reaching $6.727 billion and accounting for 81% of overall sales.

The Texas Lottery is a trailblazer in the industry, proven by its commitment to offering outstanding games that leverage innovative features, licensed brands and exciting promotions. For example, $50 Casino Millions, featuring the irresistible shimmer and shine of Scratch FXtra®, earned the title of the Lottery's highest-selling $50 game ever. The X the Cash family of games, which leveraged a combination of Scratch FX® and Neon ink, was another player favorite and included a Hawaii Dream Getaway second-chance promotion that gave players the opportunity to enter non-winning tickets for the chance to win a VIP vacation experience! This year, the Lottery also launched the U.S. lottery industry's first-ever $100 scratch ticket, $20 Million Supreme, which featured a winning combination of Pollard Banknote's Soft Touch™ and Scratch FX® print innovations.

"Our strong history with Pollard Banknote has allowed us to work closely to bring many new games and innovative products to market," said Gary Grief, Executive Director, Texas Lottery. "Their expertise in the scratch ticket and retail categories has helped us to introduce unique concepts that maximize revenues that benefit all Texans. We are excited to once again partner together to deliver products and services that delight players and grow our lottery business."

"We are thrilled to extend our partnership with the Texas Lottery through this new contract," said Brad Thompson, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Pollard Banknote. "For over two decades we have collaborated with the Lottery to deliver innovative scratch ticket products that excite and engage players. With the inclusion of our easyVEND™ solution, the Lottery can now augment sales at multi-lane retailers through increased product awareness and new points of distribution to its players, leading to greater returns for good causes throughout the state."

As one of the most successful lotteries in the United States, the Texas Lottery celebrates "30 Years of Winning" with its unparalleled scratch ticket and draw game methodologies. In FY 2022, lottery sales grew to $8.297 billion—an increase of more than $189.7 million from the previous year. This record sales growth allowed the Lottery to return a net contribution of $1.998 billion to schools and veterans services across Texas. For more information, visit www.texaslottery.com.

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high-quality instant ticket products, licensed games, in-lane ticket options, and sales-driving merchandising solutions from its Schafer Retail Solutions + portfolio. It also offers a full suite of digital offerings, ranging from world-class game apps to comprehensive player engagement and iLottery solutions, including strategic marketing and management services. 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 provides pull-tab tickets, bingo paper, ticket vending machines, and its Diamond Game and Compliant Gaming electronic games and devices to charitable and other gaming markets in North America.  Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 64.3% by the Pollard family and 35.7% by public shareholders, and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). For more information, please visit our website at www.pollardbanknote.com.

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