SVL no longer gets share of unclaimed lottery prizes - Scales back on sponsorships
Published:Sunday | February 23, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Tameka Gordon, Business Reporter
Thousands of lottery players continue to ignore their winnings but Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) no longer gets a share of unclaimed prizes due to changes in the law.
SVL has already paid over more than $180 million left uncollected to the Government, but said it would not disclose the total pool of unclaimed funds ahead of the publication of its annual financial results.
Previously, the unclaimed prizes were shared 50-50 with the state-operated CHASE Fund.
Unclaimed winnings totalled $220 million in 2011, and $222 million in 2012, according to SVL chief executive officer, Brian George.
Supreme Ventures would have retained $221 million of the total.
SVL's Sponsorship and Public Relations Manager Carlene Edwards said the company used its portion of the funds to finance prizes for game promotions, such as Cash Pot Coloured Ball, and to fund national sponsorships.
However, since the announcement of the new tax measures imposed on the gaming industry in February 2013, unclaimed prizes from all lottery games are now split equally between the CHASE Fund and the Betting Gaming & Lotteries Commission (BGLC).
Due to the change in the law and increased tax liabilities, SVL has decided to scale back on sponsorships for 2014.
"Sponsorships and donations have been reduced by 25 per cent," said Edwards, adding that with the reduction of the overall budget, some commitments have been completely eliminated.
OVER $180M UNCLAIMED IN 2013
SVL said that last year, unclaimed prizes of more than $180 million, including a Super Lotto jackpot, that normally would have supported its corporate sponsorship and donation programmes, were required to be paid over to the BGLC under new conditions of its gaming licence.
"Unclaimed prizes amounts fluctuate, so one day it could be high and another it could be low," George said while noting he could not comment on the status of unclaimed prizes for 2013, owning to the company's financial filing period with the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Other payments to the Government last year included more than $800 million paid to the CHASE Fund, $1.3 billion in lottery and gaming taxes, and more than $360 million for BGLC fees, the company said.
SVL does 700,000 daily transactions on average for its games, for which $19 billion of prize money was paid out in 2013 for the Cash Pot, Pick Two, Pick Three and Pick Four games, the company said.
Unclaimed lottery winnings
- 2010 - $136 million
- 2011 - $222 million
- 2012 - $220 million