Pollard Banknote Ltd has reached an agreement with the National Lottery of Belgium to provide it with its gaming platform.
The contract was awarded after a 15-day standstill period under Belgian procurement law, which all potential partners of Loterie Nationale are subject to.
Under the 12-year agreement valued at €177m, Pollard Banknote will supply the lottery with a portfolio of draw games and instant games, among others, tailored for both online and retail channels.
Both entities have been partners since 1998, with Pollard Banknote becoming the lottery’s primary instant ticket supplier in 2005.
For its entire history spanning back to 1934, the Belgian Lottery has risen to be an important pillar of Belgium’s society, currently contributing more than €365m to national initiatives related to healthcare, culture, sports, education, and equality.
It is under strict control by the Belgian government, which recently undertook a reassessment of the lottery’s internal operations to ensure that it remains compliant with national and European standards.
Further highlighting the strategic importance of the partnership, this will be the first time when Pollard Banknote mobilises its Catalyst Gaming Platform for an omnichannel deployment.
Catalyst is cloud-based, leveraging microservices architecture for the delivery of a flexible and scalable service that will aim to evolve to the lottery’s targets and shifting consumer demands.
Some of the benefits that Catalyst offers include player account management, player engagement tools, a game aggregation bridge for a unified game proposition, instant ticket managing system, and an integrated marketing engagement platform for personalised player experience.
Doug Pollard, Co-CEO, Pollard Banknote, commented: “This award represents a significant milestone in Pollard Banknote’s history.
“By choosing Catalyst to power its core operations, Loterie Nationale has not only placed its trust in us, but has also endorsed our vision for the future of lottery innovation.
“Together, we’re redefining the global standard for how lotteries engage with players–securely, responsibly, and seamlessly across channels.”