Dabloons™, a pirate-themed PA Lottery game, awarded its first six-figure prize in this week. The new game is part of the Pennsylvania Lottery‘s new portfolio of iLottery games.
Drew Svitko, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery issued the following statement about the win in a press release:
“We’re happy to announce PA iLottery’s first major prize award. Since launching in May, iLottery has already awarded more than $48 million in prizes to players all across Pennsylvania.”
A lucky lottery player wins the largest Dabloons™ prize
Players can play Dabloons for as little as $0.10 or as much as $10. The largest prize amount for the game is $100,000. A player can earn the grand prize by placing the max bet of $10.
To play Dabloons:
- Choose your bet size
- Take one of eights shovels to a spot and dig
- Reveal the result which will include a GOLD COIN, a CANNON, or a GOLD KEY
- Take another shovel and dig until all the shovels are gone
A player wins the prize displayed when revealing a GOLD COIN. Revealing a CANNON and GOLD KEY earns the player a bonus mini-game.
While not confirmed, the $100,000 was most likely awarded on a max-bet of $10 after revealing the GOLD COIN and the corresponding prize amount of $10,000. For reference, the bet multiplied by the amount displayed equals the player’s winning prize amount.
According to the PA iLottery website, the odds of a Dabloons’ player winning the $100,000 is 1 in 146,667. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 4.65.
Pennsylvania iLottery has something for everyone
In June, the Pennsylvania Lottery launched iLottery games with a chance for lottery players to win up to $250,000. The online lottery games allow players to get their lottery fix on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
“PA iLottery games are a fun, new way to play and win from home or while on the go,” said Svitko at the time of the launch. “iLottery is a big part of our effort to meet our players where they already are while generating new funds to benefit older Pennsylvanians.”
Since the launch, iLottery has quickly become one of the Lottery’s most popular products. Even though it was only for only a short time during fiscal 2017, it helped propel the Lottery to a post a new record-breaking revenue figure.
Heading into a busy sports season with football dominating the schedule, the iLottery’s Xpress Sports will likely be in demand too. Xpress Sports simulates sports betting by allowing players to bet on predetermined simulated plays every five minutes at their local bar.
Xpress Sports has the potential to become one of the Lottery’s most popular offerings. However, there are some speed bumps ahead.
Casinos taking the Lottery to court
Seven Pennsylvania casinos are taking the Lottery to court. At the heart of the matter is the similarity of the iLottery games to casino-style games.
The casinos involved in the lawsuit are:
- Parx Casino
- Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
- Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack
- The Meadows Casino Racetrack Hotel
- Stadium Casino
- Valley Forge Casino Resort
- Mohegan Sun Pocono
The casinos contend the games infringe on the exclusivity clause of their contracts. Of course, the Lottery assures the public that the iLottery games are legal under the 2016 gambling expansion law.
The Lottery says its customers want the games. The casinos, however, want the games permanently banned.
Winning lottery players makes for great headlines. On the heels of the casinos filing a lawsuit against the Lottery, a big winner couldn’t have come at a better time.
