STAMFORD, Conn., March 27, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- eLOT, Inc. announced today it had received a patent from the Canadian government for eLOTTERY's e-commerce system that will facilitate Internet sales of lottery tickets in the country's five provincially approved lottery corporations with a screening and verification function on the Internet.
The company is a leading application service provider of Internet marketing, advertising and e-commerce technologies for government-operated lotteries that now include the United States, China, and the provinces of Canada with its combined population of approximately 33 million.
Specifically, Canadian Patent #2,468,279 covers the eLOT system that 1.) enables lottery administrators to receive player and ticket information; 2.) screens and verifies that players satisfy provincial eligibility criteria; 3.) stores player and ticket information; and 4.) determines winning ticket numbers and notifies winners upon receipt of those numbers from the provincially approved lottery corporations.
"We believe the economic climate in Canada and relative consumer demand among the 21-to-34 demographic appears very favorable to expanding the sales and distribution of lottery products to the Internet," according to eLOT Chief Operating Officer Michael Yacenda. "Research we've done in the U.S. indicates that the online sale of lottery tickets using our Internet technology and knowledge of consumer e-marketing practices could boost ticket purchases by as much as 13 percent, and we feel a similar scenario is possible in Canada," he said.
eLOT Patent Specifics
The company and its eLOTTERY Inc. subsidiary (http://www.elottery.com) have received patents for Internet sales of lottery 'number' and instant games along with subscription services in the United States (U.S. patent #s 6,322,446, 6,383,078 and 6,869,358; China patent #01823772.X260658; and Canada patent #2,468,279.
Applications are filed and pending in Europe, Australia, Mexico and India.