The Oregon Lottery likes to tout how its revenues create jobs and boost economic development. But one of its latest instant scratch-off ticket games apparently has been helping generate a tidy sum of revenue for the owners of a 9-year-old, offshore-based online casino.
Call the confusion over the name Casino Fortune unintended offshoring, if you will.
And while lottery officials say they dont see how anyone could confuse a scratch-ticket game with Internet gambling, casino officials say their own statistics show a 50 percent jump in Oregon visitors since the lottery started the same-named game last spring.
The apparent confusion prompted an announcement this week from the online casino (www.CasinoFortune.com), which is based in Trinidad and has its servers in Antigua.
The lottery's scratch ticket (www.oregonlottery.org/scratch/cfortune.shtml) game began May 4, and has a top prize of $80,000. One can play high card, roulette, slots or 7-11 on the $10 tickets.
The number of Oregon participants in the Casino Fortune Website has grown from 8,550 before the scratch ticket games release to almost 12,500 at present, said casino spokesman Kevin Mercuri in New York. In fact, he said, more than 2,700 Oregon clients responded to the registration question, How did you hear about us? with the answer: scratch ticket.
The estimated windfall from the mixup is approaching $950,000, Mercuri said, adding that the average new client spends $240 in first-month betting expenses.
The scratch-off tickets came from the Oregon Lotterys instant ticket vendor, Oberthur Gaming Technologies of San Antonio, Texas. The firm has more than 30 years of lottery-specific expertise and more than a centurys experience in the security printing industry, according to its Website (www.oberthurgt.com).
In fact, the firm, which has worked with the Oregon Lottery since 1998, recently signed a new one-year contract with the state, with the option to extend for five more years. Currently, 22 states contract with OGT, according to Jeffrey Shoumaker, an account manager.
Lottery calls confusion 'unlikely'
Chuck Bauman, Oregon Lottery spokesman, said Tuesday, Their (OGTs) legal department had done a trademark search prior to the production of the Casino Fortune ticket and cleared it for use by the Oregon Lottery due to the fact that the federal (trademark) is not in the same field of services as instant tickets and services.
Since there is no tie-in between the instant game and the Internet, confusion is not likely, Bauman said.
But the big boost in the number of Oregon gamblers visiting the site speaks for itself, according to Mercuri.
Its obvious to us that Oregon is not exactly Las Vegas or Atlantic City, he said. In our database, clients coming in from the state of Oregon are pretty slim. The big increase, Mercuri said, coincided with the issuance of the Casino Fortune scratch tickets.
The casino spokesman also didnt buy the argument that its trademark doesnt extend to other gambling, such as the scratch-off tickets. That would be the equivalent of me starting a clothing line and using Pepsi-Cola, since Pepsi doesnt make clothing, Mercuri said.
I think its a matter of the principle, he said. Were a very established and well-respected Internet casino. Almost 2 million Americans gamble with us. Were the largest casino, with regards to American clientele, third-largest in the world.
Court action over the trademark is possible, the spokesman said. It depends on whether its worth it, whats the return on investment. Our CEO is pretty upset. Hes talking to our attorneys in New York.
If we dont take them to court, we might as well have a good laugh on it, Mercuri said. You steal our trademark, and you end up sending us business.
Its a state organization they should be playing by the rules, he said.
I'm not confused.