The U.S.-based GTECH Holdings Corporation has signed a five-year contract worth $11 million with the Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos Espanoles (ONCE) in Spain to supply 7,000 handheld lottery terminals.

GTech signs $11m lottery handhelds deal with Spanish partner

The U.S.-based GTECH Holdings Corporation has signed a five-year contract worth $11 million with the Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos Espanoles (ONCE) in Spain to supply 7,000 handheld lottery terminals, www.lotteryinsider.com reported.

Under the contract GTECH will also provide the design and services for a new online lottery game, including initial project planning and management, marketing and field services advising.

ONCE, known as the Spanish National Organization for the Blind, is authorized by the Spanish government to administer lottery and wagering games in Spain.

ONCE provides employment to over 60,000 disabled people, many of whom are visually impaired. It was the first GTech customer to be connected to an online lottery system through handheld lottery terminals.

"Last year, we collaborated with ONCE to bring their existing lottery activities online, and introduced a new handheld lottery terminal to the thousands of visually impaired retailers who sell lottery tickets," said GTech president Bruce Turner.

The new handhelds support secure online transactions based on GSM/GPRS wireless communication standards. The terminals are equipped with Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology for the visually impaired.

The TTS technology reads and translates incoming messages into Spanish, while the GSM/GPRS wireless communication permits roaming.

With the new order ONCE's handheld terminal count is expected to reach 14,000 by the end of this year.