International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation
The International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation (ILLF) was a government-approved and state-controlled charitable foundation that operated internet lotteries . The ILLF was a pioneer in the field of internet gaming : It launched the first online lottery, PLUS Lotto, in 1995 and at that time processed the first credit card transaction for internet games. The ILLF supported charitable organizations in Liechtenstein , which in many cases also carried out aid projects in poorer countries around the world. In October 2011, the company announced on its website that it was filing for bankruptcy.
chronology
In early 1995, executives at London Mall, a UK software developer, came up with the idea of an internet lottery. They were granted a license by the Liechtenstein government to run an internet lottery with fixed odds and without international market restrictions . The non-profit foundation 'International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation' (ILLF) was established to operate this lottery. The first page was 'Interlotto'. The ILLF quickly established its position as one of the leading e-commerce websites in Europe . At that time, the ILLF also presented the world's first online scratch card game .
The first Interlotto ticket was bought by Mario Frick , the then Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (December 15, 1993 - April 5, 2001). The first interlotto drawing took place on Saturday evening, October 7, 1995 in the Köfferli-Bar in Vaduz, the picturesque capital of Liechtenstein. Caroline Burdet , Liechtenstein's most successful bobsleigh driver , drew the first six winning numbers and thus carried out the first state-sanctioned drawing of an internet lottery.
Fourteen months later, on January 13, 1997, the lottery website was renamed from Interlotto to PLUS Lotto. The occasion was an agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), one of the world's best known and most respected humanitarian organizations, which made the IFRC the primary beneficiary of charitable donations. The first drawing under the name PLUS Lotto took place on April 18, 1997.
bankruptcy
Original text, which was last seen on the website (until about February 5, 2011): "After the company has been operating since 1995, we unfortunately have to inform you that the International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation (ILLF) had to file for bankruptcy. As soon as the judge's decision is available and legally binding, the liquidation will begin. Thank you for sending any further correspondence to the following address admin@illf.com, forwarding to the liquidator will be ensured.
After being in operation since 1995, it is with much sadness and remorse we inform you that the International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation (ILLF) has been forced to file for liquidation. Depending of the decision of the judge, the liquidation procedure will come shortly. It would be appreciated if any further correspondence or inquiries on this matter could be addressed to admin@illf.com, we will take care to forward any mails to the liquidator / receiver. "
According to his own statement, an application for bankruptcy was filed and in 2012 the company went bankrupt. The website is offline.
regulation
The ILLF received the license to run its lotteries from the Liechtenstein government . The license was strictly regulated. The auditing company appointed by the government (Thöny Treuhand AG, Vaduz) carried out the auditing of the ILLF accounts. They also monitored all aspects of the business process, including the review of all drawing processes. This included all lottery games as well as all instant win games.
The partners of the ILLF were:
Thawte certified the ILLF website to guarantee that personal information such as: B. Credit card details were protected and securely processed.
The larger jackpot wins were insured with at least A-Standard security from RK Harrison Group Limited, a Lloyd's broker. This should guarantee that the jackpot winnings will be paid out.
The Liechtensteinische Landesbank held the funds paid in by players on all ILLF-operated websites to ensure that the funds were safely stored and paid out. The LLB has an AAA rating and is majority owned by the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Charity
One of the main focuses of the ILLF was the focus on charities . All Internet pages of the ILLF network set aside a certain share of the income to support people in need in Liechtenstein and around the world . All donations were made by an awarding committee controlled by the Liechtenstein government.
ILLF network
The ILLF operated several websites , which were designated as ILLF brands. Collectively, these brands offered a wide range of games.
- World Lotto Corporation was available in English; could be played in EUR.
- Lotto.li was available in German and English and offered the currencies EUR and CHF.
- PLUS Lotto was offered in English and German ; the currencies EUR , Swiss Francs and USD were available.
Games
Various games were offered by the ILLF brands:
- Lotteries
- Instant win games
- Scratch cards
Lotteries
The ILLF offered two weekly and one monthly lottery.
Weekly 6/49 lottery
In each lottery drawing, six numbers plus an additional number were drawn from a set of 49 balls with a drawing machine. There were several methods available to players to choose the six different numbers plus an additional number. Profits were for 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 right, and for 5 correct plus the bonus ball and 6 correct plus the bonus ball. All internet sites operated by the ILLF were fully licensed by the Liechtenstein government. This means that all profits were tax free. The purchase price was EUR 3 per lot. The jackpot winnings were at least EUR 20,000,000.00 and EUR 2,000,000.00 per week and were insured with RK Harrison Group Limited, a Lloyd's broker. Players had the choice between a one-off payment or the payment of winnings in the form of a pension.
Drawing
The 6/49 lottery drawing was held every Friday in the ILLF studio in Liechtenstein. The drawing supervision was carried out by an auditor from Thöny Treuhand AG, Vaduz. The examiner monitored the process before the drawing and received a CD-ROM with all the tickets in the current drawing. This data set formed the definitive data set for verifying the winners. It was matched with the database before the drawing could take place. The drawing was carried out using one of the two mechanical drawing machines from Editec (France). Before the drawing, a ball set was selected at random. Careful test draws were carried out to ensure that neither the machine nor the balls had been tampered with. After the drawing, the examiner ran an independent program. The results obtained were compared to the database to ensure that the data was correct and that there were no errors. The drawing was filmed and published on the brands' websites. The draws were recorded and made available on the website for future viewing.
The prize pool for the 6/49 lottery drawing was 90% of the value of the lottery ticket. The division was as follows:
- 2% for 6 correct numbers + bonus ball
- 8% for 6 correct numbers
- 10% for additional special prices
- On average 2% for 5 numbers + bonus ball
- On average 4% for 5 correct numbers
- On average 7% for 4 correct numbers
- Average of 30% for 3 correct numbers
- Average of 37% for 2 correct numbers
| Hit | Profit | Odds of winning (1 to) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 out of 49 + bonus ball | 20,000,000.00 | 601,304,088 |
| 6 out of 49 | 2,000,000.00 | 14,316,764 |
| 5 out of 49 + bonus ball | Pro-rata share from the remaining prize pool | 1,179,027 |
| 5 out of 49 | Pro-rata share from the remaining prize pool | 56,812 |
| 4 out of 49 | 120.00 | 1,032 |
| 3 out of 49 | 30.00 | 56 |
| 2 out of 49 | 5.00 | 7th |
The total chance of winning a prize was 1 in 6.63.
Little Big One
Little Big One was a weekly lottery where 5 balls out of 15 were drawn. Each lot contained 5 of 15 chosen numbers. A maximum of 3003 tickets were available in each weekly drawing. The purchase price was EUR 6 per lot. There were three categories of prizes, including a 0 (zero) correct prize. Since each combination of numbers was only sold once, winners didn't have to share their prizes. The jackpot was guaranteed EUR 2,003.00 per week. The weekly drawing was carried out automatically using a certified random generator. The draw took place on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Liechtenstein. Due to a "jackpot must be won" function of the LBO game, draws could also take place earlier. All drawing results were published on the website.
The prize pool for Little Big One was 80% of the value of the ticket cost. The division was as follows:
- 27.79% for 5 numbers for a 5 number match
- 49.95% for 3 correct numbers
- 20.98% for 0 (zero) corrects
- 1.28% for additional special prices
| Hit | Profit (EUR) | Odds of winning (1 to) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 out of 15 | 2003.00 | 3003 |
| 3 out of 15 | 8.00 | 6.7 |
| 0 out of 15 | 6:00 am | 11.9 |
The total chance of winning a prize was 1 in 4.27.
Equinox lottery
Only 2,000 ticket numbers were sold per drawing, which took place twice a week. The purchase price of a complete lot was EUR 45. Each lot consisted of 3 parts. The purchase price of a share was EUR 15. Players had the choice between buying a whole ticket and / or up to 3 shares, depending on how many shares of this ticket had already been sold. The prize money in this raffle game was up to EUR 45,000.00 and up to 565 cash prizes will be awarded. The drawing results were published on the website.
| Categories | Profit (EUR) | Odds of winning (1 to) | Number of winning tickets | condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 45,000.00 | 3.54 | 565 | For one of the prices |
| 1. | 18,000.00 | 2,000 | 1 | All 5 numbers in the correct order |
| 2. | 750.00 | 2,000 | 1 | All 5 numbers in the correct order |
| 3. | 600.00 | 2,000 | 1 | All 5 numbers in the correct order |
| 4th | 450.00 | 2,000 | 1 | All 5 numbers in the correct order |
| 5. | 300.00 | 2,000 | 1 | All 5 numbers in the correct order |
| 6th | 135.00 | 2,000 | 1 | All 5 numbers in the correct order |
| Sub | 180.00 | 2,000 | 2 | Next number for 1st price |
| Sub | 180.00 | 2,000 | 2 | Next number for 2nd price |
| Sub | 180.00 | 2,000 | 2 | Next number for 3rd price |
| Sub | 17,820.00 | 20.2 | 297 | First 3 digits of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd winning number |
| Sub | 3,420.00 | 105.3 | 57 | Last 2 digits of 1st, 2nd & 3rd winning number |
| Sub | 2,985.00 | 10.1 | 199 | Last digit of the 1st winning number |
The odds of winning were 1 in 3.54 and 1 in 5.45 that they would win back more than the stake.
Instant win games
PLUS Lotto offered a variety of online instant win games. Players could immediately win up to EUR 10,000.00.
Scratch cards
PLUS offered seven online scratch cards. The scratch cards cost EUR 1 to EUR 7. Up to EUR 100,000.00 could be won.
Who could play
- The ILLF lotteries and instant prize games were authorized and controlled by the Liechtenstein government. Liechtenstein is a small, sovereign state in the heart of Europe and a member of the United Nations and the European Economic Area. The lots, which were sold exclusively through servers in the Principality of Liechtenstein, were sold within the European Economic Area as part of the free movement of goods and services in the EU.
- In order to be eligible to participate, members had to be over 18 years of age and not be allowed to live in the United States of America or access via Swiss servers.
Web links
- Website of the International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation ( Memento from February 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
- PLUS Lotto ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Lotto.li ( Memento from August 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
- World Lotto Corporation ( Memento February 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ lotto.li. October 5, 2011, accessed July 24, 2019 .
- ^ On-line commercial lottery
- ^ Will Principality Find Fame Through the Internet ?: Surf's Up for Liechtenstein's Lotto
- ↑ Welcome to the first PLUSLotto draw!
- ↑ Casinos and bonus offers for players from Liechtenstein. Retrieved July 24, 2019 .
- ↑ International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation Award guidelines ( Memento from October 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )