GeoLotto.com and Your Piece of the UK
The latest newbie game on the block is GeoLotto. It’s a game that uses google maps for players to buy sites in the UK versus lottery numbers. This new game is not so new and was originally called GeoSweep. This not so popular game was revamped and re-launched from a daily draw to a weekly draw. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation in Canada also ran GeoSweep for a while and then packed it in. I’m not sure why they think simply changing the name will make it work, but let’s take a look at what it is.
The Game at GeoLotto
At GeoLotto.com players chose their location versus lottery numbers. You can find your home, your office or chose some famous landmark like Stonehenge or a piece of your favorite football team’s stadium. Once a week on Saturdays, the draw takes place. Using google maps, GeoLotto has divided the UK into 44,404,000 pieces. They use a Hardware Random Number Generator with the whole process certified by the UK Gambling Commission.
Geo Lotto and Winning
The jackpot draw of £1 million is based on all the pieces, hence the odds are 1:44,404,000. Each piece is part of a group – there are 20 in total. The jackpot square determines the group that any player who has a piece in that group wins £5. They estimate the ability of 2,020,199 pieces could win. The reason the number is not 2,020,200 is that the person who wins the jackpot can’t win the £5. The rest of the mid-range prizes from 15 of £100,000 down to £25 are picked randomly from the rest of the pieces. It is underlined that no one can win two prizes, so I’m not sure what would happen if a player won the £5 and then their piece came up for the £100,000.
Who Can Win?
We’re talking a game that choses UK land sites so it is not much of a surprise that players must be from Great Britain (England, Scotland & Wales), the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. The T&Cs point out residents of Northern Ireland are excluded. Weird eh!
Players must also be over the age of 18. With an overall population of 64 million people (2013 figures), that puts about 48 million over the age of 18. Remember, I am not a mathematician, but I wonder how many people actually play.
Who is GeoLotto?
GeoLotto is run by Geo24uk. Its technology platform is operated by Geonomics with support from Tipp24. Tipp24 has some equity interest in GeoLotto and is a London based company that has shares listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange. They operate a bunch of lottery based sites.
Asking for Help
GeoLotto was fast at getting back through their email address with a turnaround on questions of less than 24 hours. There is no online chat, but they do have a free phone number available UK hours, seven days a week and a snail mail address.
The Bottom Line
Part of me was very bemused by the concept of choosing a site versus lottery numbers. I mean, where do you think is lucky. I think this is one game that would take a heap of advertising to get people to play. There is no reason to think these people are not legit though I’m not sure how long this game will survive given the history.
Pros:
A game platform actually registered in the UK
Not expensive to play
Good odds to get your investment back
Cons:
ONLY FOR UK RESIDENTS
Does not include Northern Ireland residents
ONLY FOR UK RESIDENTS
If you live in the UK excluding Northern Ireland, this could be a bit of a lark. The odds of recovering your £1 investment for a piece are pretty good. Me, I’ll stick to good old fashion lotteries.
Wait, wait, wait… Don’t leave! Join the GeoLotto Live Discussion and let’s talk.