Renowned for its casinos, the French group Partouche has become the partner of the National Lottery of Senegal (LONASE), based in Senegal. The partnership also includes Digital Virgo, another French firm that specializes in monetizing online audience and contents.

Via this partnership, a new instant lottery game named “Cash Chrono” was launched in Senegal. The gameplay consists in choosing 8 numbers going from 1 to 36, and send them by SMS to 24500. The chosen numbers must be spaced in the SMS. A draw is made every two minutes. The person with the right 8 numbers combination wins FCFA10 billion.

In the following minute, an SMS is sent to the winner to confirm how much he won.

“Cash Chrono” is also broadcasted on 24-hour TV where the daily 480 drawings are shown. This new game integrates ICT. Digital Virgo has in fact developed for the game a payment platform.

For LONASE, “Cash Chrono” integrates the firm’s 2015-19 strategic plan, says its director general, Amadou Samba Kane. This plan consists in being able to compete with online games.

For the French groups Partouche and Digital Virgo, “Cash Chrono” is just a stepping stone to expanding in West Africa’s gaming market. Mali and Cote d’Ivoire are next in line. Senegal is considered a hub which should allow “Cash Chrono” to go global. The goal here is to develop a Pan African gaming platform, Partouche’s President, Patrick Partouche said. Partouche which had good results in 2014-2015 is now looking to expand worldwide.

Partouche already exploits casinos in Tunisia. These are part of the 45 brands including those in France, Switzerland and Belgium. The firm also invested in other assets such as hotels, restaurants, thermal centres, gulfs or beaches. In 2014-2015, it generated a turnover of €400.3 million, for a profit of €2 million. Results were negative throughout the 8 years preceeding this period.

Assongmo Necdem