IGT and Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) have collaborated with the National Lottery in Malta to deliver its historical horseracing (HHR) technology.
This deal will see IGT and CDI expand their HHR technology to Malta through the lottery, which as a result makes the National Lottery the first gaming operator outside the US to offer HHR services.
Initially, IGT will represent 100% HHR floor share at National Lottery’s first HHR venue, IZIBingo, while Exacta Services, a subsidiary of CDI will power the gaming floor with its Exacta Connect system solution.
The pair will also power a number of other National Lottery gaming venues throughout Malta.
The HHR offering will be launched with more than 80 IGT HHR games on IGT cabinets including PeakSlant49, PeakSlant32 and Cobalt27, with HHR-version games and IGT classic games.
Exacta Systems President Jeff Lind said: "Exacta is thrilled to announce our new partnership with IZI Group and IGT in Malta, which marks an exciting first step towards our international expansion. The flexibility of our Exacta Connect system in adapting to different markets and legislative environments, coupled with the thrill of HHR gaming, continues to drive this growth."
National Lottery CEO Johann Schembri commented: "We are excited to launch the first-ever HHR offering outside the USA.
"This first installation at IZIBingo and other sites within our lottery network in the coming weeks is the result of extensive efforts and represents a significant step in our mission to innovate the operations of the National Lottery.
“Our collaboration with Exacta and IGT, two of the world's leading technology providers in this market, enables us to establish the ideal showcase for this offering, as we endeavor to expand this concept internationally."
IGT COO, Gaming Nick Khin added: "Expanding our historical horseracing footprint in Malta is an exciting growth milestone for IGT and a testament to the quality and global relevance of our HHR content and hardware portfolio.
"By offering players HHR-versions of highly popular IGT games such as Prosperity Link and Cleopatra, National Lottery is extending the reach of some of the gaming industry's most celebrated content in a format that players readily enjoy."
In other news, last week, IGT was awarded a contract by the Ohio Lottery Commission to provide its Intelligen central monitoring system for video lottery terminals (VLT).