One of Trinidad and Tobago’s most popular — games the National Lottery Classic will have its last draw on March 8 with promises by the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) of a “new beginning with fabulous new opportunities”.
A NLCB official yesterday said while the Lottery Classic was ending “something new was coming”, but declined to say what would be the new game. The official said, “A conference with agents would be held on Thursday.”
The lottery game was first drawn live on televison on February 8, 1969 and was the only game operated by the NLCB until 1988. The game was initially known as Traditional Lottery but was referred to by many as the National Lottery.
Reports surfacing last August revealed plans were in the making to phase out not only online gaming such as Lotto and Play Whe but also the Classic Lottery. Prime Minister Patrick Manning had announced this plan during the 2007/2008 budget debate.
This caused an uproar among workers in the gaming industry who protested against the moves to phase out online and casino gambling.
An article on the NLCB website revealed that during a Classic Lottery Agents and Vendor Conference held in April 2002, “the Classic Lottery was in a state of decline even before the introduction of the on-line games.”
It further revealed “different strategies have been used to address declining sales but these have not stopped the haemorrhage.”
The game was then re-launched on September 7, 2002 with a new tag line “Your ticket to the Money”.
However, reports indicate the Classic Lottery had maintained “a consistent loss” in the following years.
Initially the first prize draw for Lottery Classic was $50,000 with 50,000 tickets being printed and sold for $5 each. During the years, the prize was increased to $500,000.
According to an advertisement, “National Lottery Classic is going out with a bang (with) a total of $100,000 being added to the top ten prizes.” |
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