Geosweep relaunch in trouble

Canada’s Atlantic Lottery Corporation lost millions before dropping the ill-fated online Geosweep lottery game last year and the UK relaunch does not appear to be faring much better.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that only a handful of the 59.2 million squares available have been sold by GeoLotto UK, which has announced that this latest attempt is to follow the path of two earlier versions and be diluted.

The British website announced this month that from March 1st the game will switch from seven draws a week to just one, an advisory that comes after months of weak sales in Britain.

GeoLotto and predecessor GeoSweep are the work of a London-based company titled Geonomics. The games utilise giant grids placed over a Google map, which allow players to buy plots of land that are then entered in a draw for cash prizes.

The ALC burned its fingers when it attempted to appeal to a younger demographic by launching the game in its GeoSweep guise after convincing Canadian provinces Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick to invest $8 million in the venture and a further $2 million on promotions, but the project fell flat.

Geonomics redesigned the game, increasing jackpots and raising the price to play, but it does not appear to have taken off. Even “hotspots” like the 750 squares around Buckingham Palace went unsold, and interest on social gaming networks has been minimal, with only 53 followers signing up on Twitter.

When asked for comment, Geonomics promised a statement next week.

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