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The ILLF
If you search Wikipedia for the ‘first online gaming transaction’, you will be directed to an entry regarding International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation; the ILLF. Who were the ILLF?
The ILLF was a charitable organization set up by serial tech investor David Vanrenen in Liechtenstein in 1994. Along with the legendary Adriaan Brink and Henry O’Sullivan, they created an online lottery called Interlotto.li. It was launched on October 4th, 1995. Read David’s story in the next page.
This was ground-breaking stuff! Anyone with access to the internet, with a browser, could open an account, make a payment with a credit card and buy lottery tickets. No downloads necessary. All HTML.
The first online ticket ever sold was purchased by the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, Mario Frick. This endorsement gave the project some decent gravitas.
The drawing of the lottery numbers was made using a traditional ball machine under the watchful eye of the auditing company Coopers & Lybrand. The first live televised draw was made on October 7th 1995.
InterLotto.li
You can still access this site thanks to oldweb.com
True to form! While Adriaan lived in Liechtenstein he organized a group of investors and bought a bar. The bar was upgraded somewhat and called Reflex Lounge. It was located in nearby Buchs in Switzerland. The small, peaceful town of Buchs was never the same after that.
After a long and illustrious career, Adriaan passed away in 2023. He was a not only a brilliant programmer but also an adventurous entrepreneur. He was always up to something new. He was such a good friend to me and to many. Sadly missed.
Henry went on to continue his career in international payments. He became a figure in the Wirecard affair and was recently on trial in Singapore. No one has heard from him since. And that’s another story.
