”Panto”- New deposit refund lottery in Norway

The game is called Panto, a new type of lottery where recyclers of all ages can participate. And best of all, Panto offers a winning proposition not only to those who play, but also to participating stores, charities and the environment.

The organization behind this initiative is the Olav Thon Group, a conglomeration of businesses majorityowned by entrepreneur Olav Thon. According to Gaute Langdal, a director with the Olav Thon Group, “this is a project that has developed out of Olav Thon’s personal engagement with environmental and charitable issues. We are very pleased that the concept has been so positively received by consumers, retailers, the packaging industry and regulatory authorities, and look forward to being able to make a big contribution to the work of the Norwegian Red Cross.”

Langdal and his colleague Trond Solvang will lead the administration of the lottery under the auspices of a company created within the Olav Thon Group especially for this purpose, Norsk Underholdningsspill AS. This organization will assume all investment and operating costs associated with the reverse vending equipment needed to run the program.

Ownership of the machines however will continue to be in the hands of the stores themselves. For retailers Panto will therefore require no additional costs, on the contrary, all Norwegian stores participating in the program will receive 9.8 percent of the gross revenues from the lottery. Not to mention the opportunity for increased sales from Panto customers at the store – a true win-win situation.

PANTO : A winning ticket

• Consumers can choose either to receive the deposit refund as cash or to use the refund to play the Panto lottery.

• No other means of payment can be used other than refunds from deposit beverage containers.

• Every 50 řre in deposit value receives a chance to win. The amount of the prize money available to win is between 50 kroner and 2 million kroner.

• Players can find out immediately at the store whether they have won a prize.

• Prize winnings of up to 1000 kroner are paid out at the cash register, higher amounts are paid out by Norsk Pantelotteri AS.

• It is estimated that every 10th deposit refund customer that participates in the lottery at a retail store will receive a prize.

• All profits will go to the Norwegian Red Cross.