WINNING tickets were being cashed in thick and fast last year and players of Slovakia’s LOTO lottery run by the state-owned Tipos company were among those most lucky. No less than 24 LOTO players won jackpots, with prizes totalling over €16.77 million. In 2010 LOTO players benefited from a record number of wins compared to 2009, when they collected the top prize ‘only’ 20 times, Tipos reported.
Players from Nitra and Trenčín Regions were especially lucky, with five players in each region hitting the jackpot. In Bratislava and Prešov Regions, players hit the jackpot only three times in each.
The biggest payout last year was €1.696 million, which went to a player in Žilina Region in February. Five LOTO players cashed in winning tickets of over €1 million.
Slovaks are keeping up with modern trends: in addition to placing their bets and buying their lottery tickets in bricks-and-mortar offices they often use the internet or mobile phones.
The first top prize based on a bet submitted via a text message happened in March 2010 and paid €596,621. In September a player who bought a lottery ticket via the internet won €795,500.
Tipos paid out over €79.15 million in 2010 to players in its number games.
