SUPREME Ventures has the enviable record of introducing the fairest form of gambling in the country’s history. Trying to rig the results is more difficult than winning the Super Lottery — don’t bother trying — as such their success and longevity is guaranteed.

I have no doubt that the company, as a success entity, has done proper due diligence and feasibility of adding a fifth draw to an already crowded daily schedule of draws. Let us assume that the company is trying to maximise its projected daily intake, having not apparently achieved the desired results of its current soon-to-be-completed promotions, or more draw will further entice the already gambling-hungry population.

Let us examine the whole scenario on a broad perspective. The economy is in a tailspin; there is no new money being injected into it, and people have less cash to spend due to the daily escalating price increases. Is Supreme Ventures creating a situation that gives the punter the false hope of gambling their troubles away — I don’t think so. A company of Supreme Venture’s high credibility rating and business acumen must have carefully examined all possibilities before swamping the daily routine of the average Jamaican who gambles with more daily draws.

I did a research on similar gambling offerings in other jurisdictions and came up with very interesting results. Supreme Ventures is the only company I found with a single number game, and the highest number of daily draws. Is it that Supreme Ventures knows something that these other countries does not know, or are they debunking the age-old saying: “Too much of one thing good for nothing.”

On the other hand is Supreme Ventures trying to get a larger piece of the already lucrative gambling pie. Examining this scenario my thought process has not been able to see the rationale to add more draws, but I am just one insignificant bettor who only bets on two games — mostly Pick 3 and Pick 4, as I see these games offering more enticing returns on my investment; the Cash Pot I will buy occasionally invest in if I get a rake or a dream, which I don’t get often. I buy my bet once for all draws; last two draws I basically eliminate two draws, now

its five draws I will

eliminate three.

Is my pattern the norm for the average punter? I don’t know. I would presume each person will responsibly gamble what they can afford to lose, but the laws of gambling do not work like that. Few people who gamble can afford to lose. But, as the saying goes, “If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t have a chance. And equally of significance is that few people gamble their way into fortune.

What if Supreme Ventures is maximising every effort to control the industry. Let us take a look at the current scenario: Sports Betting, they have a large share. Horse racing’s major sponsors, casino small share and they are maybe not interested. Now, who are they targeting? Is it the early morning foreign race horse gamblers which could be quite lucrative? Is it that the added draw will mean more incentive for agents and a spin-off effect of more people employed in the sector? Or does it mean much more revenue for the Government?

Can the betting public become disenchanted when winning becomes a mirage. Instead of three times per day it becomes five, how long before dissolution sets in and people vent their frustration by betting only twice per day. Here lies the risk of saturating a market with a product that doesn’t change in any form,

basically routine.

Based on press reports indicating that the company suffers heavy losses on the Cash Pot game; as has been researched, a one number game can be extremely risky, hence its introduction in other jurisdictions that plays identical games. The Cash Pot game, though it has posed a challenge to the company, they can use innovative means to expand its base. Let the game be more attractive; increase the bet winnings odds from 26/1; simultaneously increase the number of balls (34/1 using 46 balls); and with daily devaluation of the dollar the current winning odds will become less attractive. The ball is in your court

Supreme Ventures.

Whatever the rationale, though, it does not augur well for a country when a lottery company can offer a variety of betting options to bet five times per day, more than twice the amount of times the average Jamaican can afford to eat a meal.

tonymiles1940@gmail.com