A Lottoland bettor in Berlin has won a staggering AUD$139million jackpot. The winner of this huge jackpot has only been identified as Christina and is based in Germany. The previous Lottoland record jackpot payout was a AU$21,6million in 2016 and was also awarded to a German Lottoland player.
Can Lottoland Afford Such A Massive Payout?
Lottoland has an insurance policy in cases of such enormous jackpot wins. In 2017, gambling operator took out an insurance policy worth almost AUD$186million to shield itself against the financial consequence of a gambler winning a 9-figure jackpot. The lottery betting company adjusted its risk management system to protect itself in the eventuality of a gambler correctly guessing any of their massive major jackpots. This is the third time since 2015 Lottoland has re-adjusted its insurance for this purpose.
After the first readjustment in 2015, a AUD$21,6million jackpot was won by a German bettor as well. Therefore, the insurance policy proved to be a savvy business move by the betting company. The insurance policy was taken out via the Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) scheme. The ILS scheme allows Lottoland to pay only part of the jackpot sum while the insurance pays the rest.
The ILS scheme has worked well for Lottoland. However, it may negatively impact their insurance premiums or the willingness of insurance firms to back the insurance-linked securities scheme. The probability of a gambler being able to correctly guess a 9-figure jackpot likely seemed slim to all parties involved. Nonetheless, it has happened twice in under 2 years.
Lottoland Brief Overview
Lottoland is not a traditional lottery itself. Rather, it is a lottery that bets on the outcomes of international lotteries. Lottoland customers are able to bet on the outcome of lotteries in different countries that they aren’t able to directly participate in. Traditional lotteries aren’t particularly thrilled with the Lottoland business model. They believe the gambling company’s profits off their business without any of the social responsibilities and obligations that traditional lotteries have to undertake.