SINCE ITS inception last year, Supreme Ventures Limited, one of Jamaica's lottery providers, has been able to dominate the gaming industry.Having acquired a 10-year lottery license, Supreme Ventures has, over the period from June 25, 2001 to August 3, 2002, generated gross sales of $9.2 billion, a remarkable achievement by any standard.
Boasting millions of winners, Supreme Ventures Limited has taken a different approach to the lottery market than its predecessors.
It started some nine years ago with just a dream, and as Suzette Tomlinson, public realtions and marketing manager of Supreme Ventures Limited describes the journey, it was no easy task.
According to her, in an address made to the Rotary Club of New Kingston, several factors contributed to the company's success including a strong belief in the product, good research, perseverance, partnerships and, of course, understanding the needs of customers.
The obvious elements, partners and investors are the ones that made Supreme Ventures a reality.
Peter Stewart, chairman of Supreme Ventures Limited; Paul Hoo, president; and Ian Levy, director, saw the possibilities and decided that the Jamaican gaming market had the capacity for a second lottery player but realised that they needed an experienced partner who knew the lottery business in-depth and was willing to invest in Jamaica. They turned to the Gtech Corporation.
Gtech is the largest and most well-known lottery service provider in the world, servicing 44 countries worldwide. Establishing a partnership with them got the ball rolling.
Mrs. Tomlinson reiterates that it took many months of research to gather the necessary evidence that would convince the Govern-ment that the market had the potential for substantive expansion.
Having acquired the license, the work was not over as lottery machines had to be ordered, game rules had to be approved, and game balls for live draws had to be tested by the Bureau of Standards.
"It was a long road," Mrs. Tomlinson told Rotarians, "but it was worth it".
"Today, 70 per cent of Supreme Ventures' sales goes back into prize payments," she notes. "This is a significant amount. We have certainly been able to live up to our motto - 'more winners more often' - by making it easier for our customers to win."
With the Supreme Ventures games, players have a one in 36 chance of winning with Cash Pot and a one in 63,000 chance of winning with Lucky 5.
According to Mrs. Tomlinson, "the success of our games can be attributed to our growing customer base, we have found favour with our players, because we give them what they want and we keep in touch with them and our agents."
Supreme Ventures Limited was able to grow the lottery market from an estimated maximum of $3.5 billion in 2000 to over $7 billion, today.
The key, Mrs. Tomlinson said is to advertise: "A company has to market itself, ongoing promotion is necessary to let the world know what you're about, this has worked well for us."
Supreme Ventures Limited is undoubtedly one of Jamaica's most successful companies in terms of revenue maximisation. The company also gives contributions to the health sector and early childhood education through the Good Cause tax.
Supreme Ventures has contributed over $400 million to both sectors. Importantly also, Supreme Venture's success also means that the country will benefit through the substantive taxes and fees paid over to the government, which are used for various development projects.
Mrs. Tomlinson emphasised that success does not come easily; it involves making a number of unpopular decisions. According to her, Supreme Ventures will terminate an agent if there is evidence to prove that the agent sells lottery tickets to minors or has minors selling tickets.
