WINNIPEG, MB , Sept. 18, 2024 /CNW/ -Pollard Banknote Limited ("Pollard Banknote") (TSX: PBL) is pleased to congratulate the New Mexico Lottery ("the Lottery") on winning the Buddy Roogow Innovation Award for Best New Instant Game for Guy Fieri Flavortown Fortune! at the 2024 North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries ("NASPL") annual conference held in Kansas City, Missouri from September 9 to 12, 2024. Designed by Pollard Banknote, this ticket became the Lottery's best-selling $5 game launched thus far in 2024, selling 40% better than all other $5 games launched since 2021, based on the average of the first 10 weeks of sales. Announced on Thursday, September 12 during a presentation hosted at the Kansas City Convention Center, this marks the third consecutive year that the New Mexico Lottery has won this award.

This game is the first to leverage the highly recognizable Guy Fieri brand, available for instant tickets exclusively from Pollard Banknote. To generate excitement around the launch, the New Mexico Lottery implemented a multi-faceted marketing campaign. First, the Lottery teased the launch with a contest inviting New Mexicans to submit recipes for a "Lottery Favorites" cookbook. The ticket, and its $50,000 top prize and $500,000 second-chance grand prize, was then promoted with radio and TV ads themed around the drive-through experience and 50s diner aesthetic, an engaging social media campaign featuring recognizable New Mexico landmarks, and an innovative "codewords" campaign in partnership with local restaurants. Each restaurant in the program received signage printed with a unique codeword that could be entered for a draw on the Lottery's website to win a $100 gift card to that restaurant, bringing Lottery advertising to new audiences in a non-traditional format.

"Congratulations to the New Mexico Lottery for being honored with NASPL's Best New Instant Game award for their bold, creative use of the Guy Fieri brand," said Brad Thompson, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Pollard Banknote. "The success of this ticket demonstrates the broad appeal of Guy Fieri and his wholesome brand that prioritizes food, fun, and philanthropy."

"When we learned that the license to Guy Fieri was available, we knew immediately we could have a lot of a fun with it," said Karla Wilkinson, Director of Gaming Products, New Mexico Lottery. "After validating that the brand was well-known to players in New Mexico, our marketing team set a goal of maximizing the impact this brand could have, resulting in a truly innovative, multi-channel marketing campaign. The resulting sales speak for themselves, but these impressive results are even more rewarding thanks to NASPL's recognition of Guy Fieri Flavortown Fortune! as the year's best and most innovative offering."

Named in honor of the late Buddy Roogow, the Buddy Roogow Innovation Award for Best New Instant Game celebrates lotteries' efforts to develop and deliver the most creative and exciting new instant games. Entries are judged on the game's innovation, strategic analysis and insight, visual appeal, and sales potential.

All profits from the sale of New Mexico Lottery games fund an in-state college tuition assistance program. Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised more than $1 billion for education and nearly 150,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships.

Name and Images of Guy Fieri and Flavortown used with permission© and ™. All Rights Reserved. Guy Fieri, the Guy! Logo and Flavortown are registered trademarks of Knuckle Sandwich, LLC.

About Pollard Banknote

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high-quality instant ticket products, licensed games, in-lane ticket options, and sales-driving merchandising solutions from its Schafer Retail Solutions + portfolio. It also offers a full suite of digital offerings, ranging from world-class game apps to comprehensive player engagement and iLottery solutions, including strategic marketing and management services. The company is a proven innovator and has decades of experience helping lotteries to maximize player engagement, sales, and proceeds for good causes. Pollard Banknote also provides pull-tab tickets, bingo paper, ticket vending machines, and its Diamond Game and Compliant Gaming electronic games and devices to charitable and other gaming markets in North America.  Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 64% by the Pollard family and 36% by public shareholders, and is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: PBL). For more information, please visit our website at www.pollardbanknote.com.

Forward-looking Statements

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SOURCE Pollard Banknote Limited