Intralot seals market-first sports deal in New Mexico

Lottery and gaming solutions provider Intralot has signed a two-year extension to its deal with the New Mexico Lottery, under which it will support the organisation with its launch of the first sports betting lottery game of its kind in the US. The new Sports Lottery parlay game will be made available throughout the entire New Mexico Lottery retail network, which comprises approximately 1,100 terminals across the state. In a first for lottery games in the US, players will be able to make their selections from a range of sporting events, placing them all together in a single parlay bet. Intralot will play a major role by deploying and customising its sports lottery gaming platform and terminal software for all New Mexico Lottery terminals. In addition, Intralot will provide its suite of fully managed services to the Sports Lottery game, as well as offer training to retail network and lottery personnel. David Barden, CEO of the New Mexico Lottery, said: “We are convinced sports lottery games will provide new and exciting experiences for our players while significantly increasing dollars being transferred to our scholarship fund for student beneficiaries.  “We are always looking for games that strengthen our lottery brand by attracting Millennials and other new players. Lottery games of this type are fun to play and will move us in that direction.” New Mexico is yet to formally legalise sports betting, but punters in the state are now able to place legal sports wagers thanks to a partnership between Santa Ana Star Casino near Albuquerque and USBookmaking. The casino is operated by the Tamaya Nation at the Pueblo of Santa Ana under the jurisdiction of tribal gaming laws. The tribal gaming compact between the state and tribes covers Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which encompasses sports wagering.