New Hampshire Lottery Commission
March 20, 2007
Meeting Minutes:
NEW HAMPSHIRE LOTTERY® COMMISSION
14 INTEGRA DRIVE, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03301
MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2007
PRESENT (COMMISSION MEETING):
Richard J. Campbell, Jr., Commissioner
Paul J. Holloway, Commissioner
Arthur P. Klemm, Jr., Commissioner
Rick Wisler, Executive Director
Robert Preston, Games Manager
Diane Campbell, Administrative Assistant I
Leonard Mannino, Security Director
Maura McCann, Programs Information Officer
Georges Roy, Administrator III
Patrick Griffin, Griffin Bodi & Krause, Inc.
Travis York, Griffin Bodi & Krause, Inc.
Rose Longo-White, Griffin Bodi & Krause, Inc.
Rob Grimmett, Griffin Bodi & Krause, Inc.
Douglas Parker, SGI
Moe Pepin, SGI
Leslie Badger, SGI
PRESENT (ADVERTISING PRESENTATIONS):
Richard J. Campbell, Jr., Commissioner
Paul J. Holloway, Commissioner
Arthur P. Klemm, Jr., Commissioner
Rick Wisler, Executive Director
Maura McCann, Programs Information Officer
Griffin, Bodi & Krause, Inc.
Rose Longo-White
Patrick Griffin
Travis York
Rob Grimmett
Ben Pierce
Tracey/Edwards/O'Neil
Hannah McLaughlin
Gary O'Neil
Haden Edwards
Alan Armstrong
SilverTech
Nick Soggu
Commissioner Campbell convened the commission meeting at 9:10 a.m.
1. RULES PUBLIC HEARING- SW 500 RULES FOR PRIZE ASSIGNMENTS:
Commissioner Campbell opened the public hearing at 9:15 a.m. There were no written or oral comments received during the public hearing. Director Wisler stated no Commission vote was needed today. Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by
Commissioner Klemm, to close the public hearing. So voted, unanimous. Written comments will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. today.
2. ACCEPTANCE AND SIGNING OF PREVIOUS MINUTES:
Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Klemm, to approve the minutes of the January, 2007 Commission meeting. So voted, unanimous.
3. FINANCIAL REPORT:
Georges Roy, Administrator III, distributed the Lottery's financial presentation to Division 2 of the House. The Lottery's budget was accepted as presented by the House. Commissioner Holloway stated the $10-$20 instant ticket sales equal approximately 40% of lottery sales. A brief discussion was held regarding if there had been any sales impact on other instant ticket price points since the $7.00 instant ticket was discontinued. Director Wisler stated the $5.00 instant ticket sales had increased dramatically since the $7.00 instant game expired. Robert Preston, Games Manager, stated that the life of the $5.00 tickets were approximately 30 weeks. Commissioner Holloway inquired how the $1 million instant prize from the New Hampshire Millionaire game would be distributed if the prize was unclaimed. Mr. Preston responded if the second instant million prize was not claimed, the funds would be distributed after one year as net profit to Education.
A brief update was given on the unclaimed prizes for the New Hampshire Lottery games and their allocation. Commissioner Klemm inquired about the purpose of the three letter codes on the instant tickets. Director Wisler responded that the codes were used for retailer validation and redeeming of prizes up to $100 in the event that the terminal or the entire system was temporarily down. A bold disclaimer has been added to the back of the instant tickets indicating that codes are only valid up to the $100 prize level.
4. TRI-STATE REPORT:
Maura McCann, Programs Information Officer, stated a $20 Tri-State raffle product will launch on November 1st offering a $1 million top prize and additional prize levels. The drawing is scheduled for January 4, 2008. A brief discussion was held on possibilities for prizes for the anticipated $30 instant ticket. Commissioner Klemm encouraged a higher top prize for the $30 ticket than the $10 or $20 instant ticket top prize. Director Wisler stated if legislation approves the $30 ticket, he would present different prize structure scenarios to the Commission for their review. Robert Preston stated that approximately 85% of the 2.1 million New Hampshire Millionaire tickets had been sold and the game was in the process of being pulled from the market. Ms. McCann stated as of April 30th, the Add-A-Play ticket will be sold separately and a Tri-State game purchase for Add-A-Play will no longer be necessary.
5. ADVERTISING:
Ms. McCann presented a draft report on the selling of Replay assets to the Commission . Ms. McCann stated three states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Hampshire were actively pursing the possibility of selling space on their lottery products for advertising businesses. Michigan had hired an agency in 2005 to go out and sell lottery to national businesses and the results were not successful due to the businesses not wanting to be associated with gambling.
Travis York, of Griffin, Bodi & Krause distributed the third quarter Replay report from June 5, 2006 through March 15, 2007 to the Commission. Mr. York stated approximately 83,000 individuals have registered for Replay; total points earned at $203 million; 80 million points entered for monthly drawings; 80 million points entered for ultimate drawings; over 10 million tickets played through the Replay site since the launch equating to over $30 million in tickets. Mr. York stated there has been an increase in activity over the last month due to additional paid media and sale of the Replay instant ticket. The ninth month indicated the highest total for tickets played of $1.3 million.
Patrick Griffin, of Griffin, Bodi & Krause stated the growth of the Replay database will be a powerful research tool about the lottery's players. Mr. Griffin stated demographic information obtained will be useful in development of games and advertising plans. There has been a shift since the holidays that more instant tickets than on-line tickets are being entered in Replay. A brief discussion was held on possible lottery email communications with Replay members to learn more about players' lottery preferences. Scientific Games stated after meeting with Director Wisler and Robert Preston, they would present some proposed prize structures for the anticipated $30 ticket.
Robert Preston stated the Lucky Dog contest had concluded, with the judging being Friday, March 23rd to select 8 dogs to be used on tickets released in July. There were 2100 entries in the contest during the two week period. Mr. Preston stated advertisement of the contest was distributed to the retailers; posted on the lottery's website; printed in the newspaper; and emailed to Replay members.
6. DISCUSSION WITH SCIENTIFIC GAMES REGARDING STORE PROMOTIONS:
A discussion was held on possible changes to the on-line system that will hopefully allow stores to promote their own products in addition to selling lottery tickets. Moe Pepin stated definition of the promotion, designing new functionality, software testing and mini specifications would need to be completed before this can occur. So far promotions have been done systemwide, but capabilities for store promotions by region or town will be
reviewed.
7. OTHER BUSINESS:
Commissioner Klemm requested an update from Scientific Games on developing an on-line million dollar jackpot game. Leslie Badger of Scientific Games responded that in order for the game to launch and be successful, enough population base from multiple states was needed. Ms. Badger stated this game idea had been presented to the lottery industry and updated the Commission on contacts and progress made.
Commissioner Klemm expressed his concern over the LBA audit observation regarding accountability for lost or stolen lottery tickets. Leonard Mannino and Robert Preston responded that they will continue the process of researching LBA's observation.
Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Klemm, to move into a non-public session for the advertising presentations. So voted, unanimous.
8. ADVERTISING PRESENTATIONS:
Griffin, Bodi & Krause presented their presentation from 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Tracey, Edwards, and O'Neil presented their presentation from 1:00 p.m-2:00 p.m.
9. OTHER BUSINESS (CONTINUED):
Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commission Klemm, to come out of non-public session at 2:40 p.m. A brief discussion was held on the presentations. Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Klemm, to enter into advertising contract negotiations with Griffin, Bodi & Krause based upon the strength of
their presentation which demonstrated methods to best meet the New Hampshire Lottery's needs, primarily the Replay program and media campaign. So voted, unanimous.
Director Wisler updated the Commission on the Request for Bids for a Cash Courier contract for the Lottery. Director Wisler stated there was only one bid received in response to the Lottery's request which was from Synder Security Group. Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Klemm, to approve the Synder Security Group for cash courier services. So voted, unanimous.
Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Klemm, to postpone discussion on the organizational chart. So voted, unanimous.
Commissioner Holloway made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Klemm, to adjourn the meeting at 3:00 p.m. So voted, unanimous.