Hotly-tipped crypto lottery Lucky Block raced to a $140 million valuation within days of its launch, and is now targeting a Binance listing in February.
The blockchain-based lottery platform, which gives players better odds and more transparency than traditional lottery games, also oversubscribed its presale and hit its hard cap 11 days earlier than predicted.
The crypto-powered ‘People’s Lottery’ raised $5.7 million from investors in its presale.
Lucky Block’s completed CoinGecko and Coinmarketcap listings saw it valued at $140 million within two days of its trading debut – and it’s since grown to $200 million.
Further upward price pressure is expected on its total supply of 100 billion tokens.
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Just over 24 hours from being listed on decentralised exchange PancakeSwap, the price reached $0.001238 – a gain of 854% for investors who bought in the presale at a price of $0.00015.
Buyers who took advantage of the second presale price of $0.00019 are sitting on a 653% gain, Lucky Block says.
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Lucky Block completed its presale with 8,611 holders – a figure that has since topped 17,000 – as it looks to start trading on centralised exchanges FTX and Crypto.com.
The lottery platform is promising to disrupt the $300 billion global lottery industry – giving 10% of ticket sale revenues to charities and offering players better odds and more chances to win.
All holders of the LBlock token are eligible for dividend payments whether or not they buy lottery tickets.
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Lucky Block has given $5,000 to the British Red Cross as part of its ongoing commitment to good causes – a first for a crypto project.
Credit: Unsplash
It also boosts its environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials by running on the energy-efficient Binance Smart Chain, and gives every holder of its token a stake in the lottery.
Commenting on the launch, Lucky Block’s chief executive officer Scott Ryder said: “Achieving a market cap valuation of more than $140 million after raising $5.7 in our presale is an achievement that sets us on a path to hit all our roadmap milestones as we set out to challenge the traditional lottery operators around the world.
“We are now looking to roll out our – up until now – largely UK-focused outdoor advertising campaign to other global cities, as we pursue listings on major crypto exchanges.
“We should be on FTX and Crypto.com fairly soon, with Binance to follow, although we can’t say too much about that just now. Our social media channels will keep everyone up to date.”
James Fennell, chief strategy officer of Lucky Block, commented: “We think that it is time to turn the promise of blockchain and so called ‘Web 3.0’ decentralised networks into a reality at the level of consumer mass adoption.
“At the moment we are working hard to deliver on our vision for a global lottery open to all and owned by its players.
“Key to realising that strategy is our app launch in March. The app will make playing the lottery and tracking winnings easy, as well as being the place where token holders can see their dividend payments compound and track the passive income they are earning.
“As we continue to build out our offering, which at a later date will include gaming, NFT and metaverse products, we will work towards achieving one of our other strategic goals – advancing our mission to transform philanthropy, in part through setting up our global not-for-profit Lucky Block Foundation.”
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Full information about Lucky Block can be found on the official website: luckyblock.com
Featured image: Unsplash
Business
Global sportswear brand PUMA to open new UK HQ in £87m Manchester development
PUMA is set to open its new UK headquarters right here in Manchester.
It has been announced that the global sportswear brand has agreed a 20,000 sq ft lease of cutting-edge workspace in what is turning out to be one of the city’s most exciting destinations for technology, digital innovation, and creative businesses, Circle Square.
Set to take shape on the Oxford Road Corridor, PUMA’s new HQ will be in the £87 million development being brought forward by Bruntwood SciTech – which is a joint venture between property developers Bruntwood, L&G (Legal & General), and Greater Manchester Pension Fund.
No.3 Circle Square, which is where PUMA will be calling home, forms the latest phase of the neighbourhood’s ‘masterplan’, offering 15 floors of new workspace focused on innovation businesses.
According to developers, the building is currently finalising construction and will open this summer.
PUMA may already have an existing small presence in Manchester, but this move sees the brand relocate its UK HQ from London to Manchester.
The new Manchester HQ will be home to the company’s sales, marketing, merchandising, finance, people and operations, and direct to consumer departments.
PUMA says its new Manchester base will allow it to work side-by-side with existing forward-thinking and disruptive businesses and institutions that are already located at the Circle Square campus, and in the wider city centre, and provide it with new opportunities to collaborate and innovate as it continues to focus on innovation and advancing performance.
The location will also put PUMA on the doorstep of the city’s world-leading academic institutions too, giving it access to Manchester’s top STEM and creative talent in the city.
“The move to Circle Square and state-of-the-art facilities on offer forms a key part of our strategy for providing PUMA’s employees with a first class working environment with top facilities and amenities,” commented Lucynda Davies, who is PUMA’s UK Managing Director, as the new UK HQ was announced this week.
“Being surrounded by such a strong line up of industry was an important factor, and to find somewhere in the heart of Manchester’s thriving tech community is exactly what we hoped for.
“We’ve already experienced many of the gains that a thriving city like Manchester affords… and now, through our new UK HQ, we look forward to further integrating ourselves in the city’s innovative community.”
Featured Image – Bruntwood SciTech
Business
25,000 free footballs are being given away across the UK
A total of 25,000 free footballs are up for grabs this month as part of a new scheme from Barclays, who are giving them away to mark a special anniversary.
The British multinational universal bank, which boasts over 850 branches and more than 48 million customers worldwide, has been supporting the beautiful game for a quarter of a century now and has been the primary Premier League sponsor since the 2001/02 season.
Approaching 25 years helping fund and promote English football, they’ve come up with a new initiative to celebrate, simply called the ‘Lost Ball Project‘.
We’ve all seen scenes like these before.
Credit: Barclays (supplied)
Tapping into the national and generational memory of losing a ball to a pond, up a tree, over a fence or on a roof and so on, Barclays are making up for those heartbreaking little losses – one ball at a time.
Lost Ball will see the bank give away 25k footballs across the UK, with Barclays customers able to claim a free ball for themselves or someone else who has lost theirs.
Already up and running, the scheme is off to a flyer and free footies will be available until Thursday, 22 May, so we wouldn’t wait around.
The bank has played an integral role throughout the British football pyramid for decades now, sponsoring to only the Premier League but also the WSL, Barclays Women’s Championship; the Northern Irish Women’s Football Association, Scottish Women’s Championship and the Scottish Women’s League One
They’ve even put together this emotive, albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek video:
As they put it, the mission of the Lost Ball Project is simple: “Let’s keep the nation playing the beautiful game. Because there’s no football without grassroots football.”
In addition to backing established leagues, they have continued to support the country’s footballing community at large, especially in terms of the women’s game.
For instance, the Barclays Girls’ Football School partnership with The FA has seen the number of participating schools rise from 3,000 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2024, helping more than 2.5 million schoolgirls access football.
Important work done from the ground up.
Credit: Supplied
Barclays’ Group Head of Sponsorship, Tom Corbett, said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of our pioneering work and funding to grassroots football over the past 25 years.
Giving away 25,000 balls to replace our customers’ ‘Lost Balls’ means they will never be without the one thing you need to be able to play the game we’ve supported at Barclays for all these years.”
If you bank with the group, you can find out how to claim your free football HERE.
The Manc -
1st February 2022 
