Desperate measure for GeoSweep game?
News on 6 Feb 2015
News on 6 Feb 2015
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s (ALC) CAD$8.7 million geo-location based lottery investment in 2011 is under scrutiny by Canadian provincial law makers.
Geonomics’ (previously Roboreus) map-based lottery game GeoSweep, failed to deliver proving to be an expensive exercise that aside from the CAD$8.7 million investment had another CAD$ 2 million thrown behind marketing the concept which was contributed by both the PEI and New Brunswick provinces.
GeoSweep, now rebranded as GeoLotto, recently re-entered the UK market, one in which it had failed previously (see previous reports), and is marketing the game by handing out cash on the streets of various British cities, recording the encounters and posting them online.
New Brunswick NDP leader Dominic Cardy wants ALC executives held accountable for the losses.
“This is millions of dollars we’ve wasted on this,” Cardy told CBC News.
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation is “following pipe dreams that literally end up with us handing out our cash on the streets of the UK. Can’t really believe it’s happening, but there you go.
“The idea that there are paid actors wandering around the UK giving away New Brunswick tax dollars is crazy,” he said.
Patrick Daigle, chief executive officer of the ALC admitted the game was not performing as expected saying it will be watched closely over the coming months after which a decision will be made on whether to write the investment off.
