FLUXX takes national lottery to the supermarket checkout

– Retailers enthusiastic about the simplicity of the “JAXX Lotto Service”
– Sales cooperations with EDEKA, FOTOPOINT and other partners
– Close collaboration with national lottery companies as a goal

Statistically speaking, every second German aged between 18 and 64 plays the national lottery three times a month. In 2004 the ‘German National Lottery and Football Pools Block’, which unites all 16 of the regional lottery companies, achieved a total turnover of € 8.4 billion. Some 90% of this was booked through the roughly 26,000 coupon acceptance points in Germany. The remaining 10% was distributed over online gaming facilities and commercial lottery syndicates.

FLUXX AG is the first German enterprise which, starting today, allows the national lottery to be played at the supermarket checkout. In line with the principle of “one-stop shopping”, JAXX Lottoservice (‘national lottery service’) allows the customer to lay his national lottery coupon on the checkout belt next to his normal purchases and to pay for it along with the other products.

JAXX Lottoservice gives the customer the choice between the classical, self-completed coupon and the increasingly popular randomly generated quick-tip coupon for spontaneous players. The gaming options are the established national lottery variants “6 from 49”, Spiel 77 (‘Game 77’) and Super 6. Moreover the customer can decide whether he wants to play just once or for several weeks. The “Quicktipp” terminals which hold pre-completed coupons in various price categories are positioned directly next to or above the checkout belt and take up little space. The coupon completion terminals are set up just before the checkout area. Both variants integrate space-saving flatscreen monitors which explain the game rules in a clear visual manner, show the current jackpot size or flash up current news items.

At the checkout itself the checkout employee enters the coupon in a special terminal which scans the coupon information and transmits this through the internet to the FLUXX server. The checkout receipt now lists not only the prices of the normal items but also the price of the lottery entry. The customer then pays for all this together in the normal manner, in cash or by EC card. As proof of payment the customer receives the game receipt with the rows of numbers played, the entry date and the specified stake.

Wins of up to € 100 can be collected at the supermarket checkout or be directly set off against purchases. Higher win amounts are transferred to the player’s giro account.

EDEKA Nord and FOTOPOINT equip branches with national lottery terminals

The advantages of JAXX Lottoservice for supermarket operators and other retailers lie above all in the low level of the used space and personnel resources, the high service level and the attractive margin. As one of the first cooperation partners, EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft Nord mbH will, following successful pilot operation, introduce JAXX Lottoservice in a part of its 645 affiliated stores. Michael Meinert, sales manager of EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft Nord mbH, comments: “The Lottoservice is an ideal supplement to our product range, because it doesn’t displace any other manufacturers’ products from the shelves. The simplicity of operation and the well-established name of the national lottery have convinced us that this new distribution principle will be a success and will soon become second nature to our customers.”

The first pilot terminals have been in use for about a week in selected supermarkets in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. These include an EDEKA store and the markets of the Kiel-based grocery specialist Schlemmermarkt Freund. Further branches will be connected successively in the coming weeks. Also in preparation are terminals in stores of the FOTOPOINT photography chain, which with some 200 branches has a wide distribution network throughout Germany.

Minimal investment for retailers

The investments required of the retailers are very low: in fact just the costs of a DSL link and the provision of the necessary space. So the introduction of JAXX Lottoservice pays off for the retailer from the very first day, as the commission he receives on each played lottery coupon is significantly above the average sales margin in grocery retailing.

FLUXX takes on the cost of the terminals and total service package such as lottery coupon processing, winner notification, payment traffic and customer service. The installation costs are financed through the share of the commission due to FLUXX, an additional charge levied on the stake and the marketing of the attractive advertising space directly at the point of sale.

Chance for the national lottery in Germany

Besides the opening up of new sales channels, FLUXX also hopes to secure distribution channels for the German national lottery companies with this new service. Should the markets in Europe be liberalized, then the supra-regional retail chain stores will form an important point of attack for competitors attempting to penetrate the market. The regional companies of the national lottery, due to their federal structure, are at a disadvantage here. This is why FLUXX supplies a supra-regional network in which the individual lottery companies are to be included contractually and technically. The advantage for the retail trade here is a single contact point for a nationwide store network.

Negotiations underway with further sales partners

“We are already negotiating with further partners who also have a broad sales structure”, reveals Rainer Jacken, spokesman of the board of directors of FLUXX AG. When selecting stores, FLUXX and its partners take existing lottery company sales points into account: “We don’t want to enter into competition with the national lottery, but rather to enable customers to play the national lottery in places where they would otherwise have little opportunity”, explains Rainer Jacken. “Our goal, together with the national lottery companies, is to structure the roll-out in such a way that all parties achieve an optimum result.”

In the view of the FLUXX management, the current trend to liberalization of the European gaming market will confront the German national lottery with new competitive challenges. “If we don’t secure this sales channel today, then others will do it tomorrow”, believes Rainer Jacken.