Pollard Banknote Limited (TSX: PBL) (“Pollard Banknote”), a leading lottery partner that provides instant tickets, interactive solutions, and marketing support, congratulates the Minnesota Lottery on a record-breaking fiscal year 2018. The Lottery achieved its highest overall sales to date, reaching $596.5 million, driven primarily by instant scratch game sales, which also set a record of $411.2 million.

Pollard Banknote began its partnership with the Minnesota Lottery in 2007 and currently serves as the Lottery’s primary instant ticket supplier. Over the last 10 years, Pollard Banknote has supplied the Lottery with a full range of instant ticket products and services, including jurisdiction-specific design, marketing, and strategic recommendations.

The Lottery’s sales achievement is a result of various successful instant products and strategies. Pollard Banknote has worked closely with the Lottery on many initiatives including the introduction of outstanding game concepts—such as eye-catching oversized tickets (larger than 48 square inches in area), innovative products such as PlayBook Mini™, multi-scene games, and popular licensed brands like Frogger and Ultimate Getaway—and the development of creative prize structures.

In collaboration with Pollard Banknote, the Minnesota Lottery has become the U.S. leader of oversized tickets, currently offering three large-format games in the market. This year, Super Bonus Crossword and Xtreme Cash added to the Lottery’s previous five oversized tickets, all of which were printed by Pollard Banknote. Super Bonus Crossword is the Lottery’s best-selling $20 crossword game to date (based on 10-week average sales) and Xtreme Cash’s 10-week average sales were 87% higher than the average $10 game launched in Minnesota since 2009!

Minnesota Treasures—the first PlayBook Mini™ game launched in the U.S.—combined Pollard Banknote’s ‘fun-size’ version of its patented PlayBook® with prominent Minnesota landmarks. Measuring in at 4″ x 3.9″, Minnesota Treasuresbrought together multiple games with various play styles in one entertaining booklet. This game contributed to a remarkable 39% sales growth in the $10 category, based on a comparison of sales 10-weeks before and after its launch.

One of the Lottery’s most popular $5 games in 2018 was Double Your Money. Pollard Banknote developed a prize structure that allowed for starting prizes of $10 (double the cost the ticket), while maintaining the Lottery’s standard quantity and odds. The game’s 10-week average sales were 67% higher than the Lottery average $5 game launched since 2009!

“Pollard Banknote extends our warmest congratulations to the Minnesota Lottery on achieving a record-breaking sales year,” remarked Byron Peterson, Director, Sales & Marketing, Pollard Banknote. “This significant accomplishment is well-deserved and reflects the Lottery’s hard work, dedication, and commitment to creating unique and engaging player experiences for Minnesotans. As a partner to the Minnesota Lottery for more than a decade, Pollard Banknote is extremely proud of the Lottery’s success and we look forward to helping it achieve continued sales growth in support of good causes in the coming years.”

“We are very excited to have reached record-breaking sales in fiscal year 2018. This success translated into a record $145 million for our beneficiaries including the state’s General Fund and various environmental programs,” said Robert Doty, Executive Director of the Minnesota Lottery. “In addition to offering high quality, innovative instant scratch tickets, Pollard Banknote supports the Lottery with guidance and expertise in research and marketing, with the ultimate goal of increasing revenue for good causes in the state of Minnesota.”

The Minnesota Lottery has been supporting good causes throughout the state since 1989. Over the years the Lottery has raised more than $2.9 billion for programs that improve the quality of life for Minnesotans. In FY 2018, the Lottery returned a record of $145 million to its beneficiaries, including $77 million to the state’s General Fund, $66 million to environmental programs, and $2 million to support problem gambling prevention and treatment programs. For more information about the Lottery, please visit www.mnlottery.com.

About Pollard Banknote

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high quality instant ticket products, licensed games, Schafer Systems retail merchandising solutions, and a full suite of digital offerings, ranging from 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, and its Diamond Game and Oasis-branded electronic ticket machines to charitable and other gaming markets in North America.  Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 67.6% by the Pollard family and 32.4% by public shareholders and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). For more information, please visit our website at www.pollardbanknote.com.