Lotterycom Inc

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As previously disclosed, in connection with the filing of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Original 2021 Annual Report”) on April 1, 2022, our management, with the participation of our then Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2021. Based on their evaluation, our then Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting with respect to our financial statement close and reporting process.

In connection with the filing of Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Amended 2021 Annual Report”), our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, reevaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2021 and determined they were not effective due to the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting with respect to our financial statement close and reporting process. Our disclosure and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. In connection with this Report, our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, reevaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2022. Based on such reevaluation, our Chief Executive Officer concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Report, our disclosure controls and procedures were still not effective due to the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting with respect to our financial statement close and reporting process, as described further below. As a result of this conclusion, we retained third-party accounting consultants who performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The issues which were identified during the initial and subsequent review continued until the new management team for the company began addressing them in the fall of 2022. Efforts to strengthen and improve internal controls over accounting and financial reporting are ongoing.

Material Weaknesses in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

In connection with the audit of our condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Report, our management has identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 relating to deficiencies in the design and operation of the procedures relating to the closing of our financial statements. These include: (i) our lack of a sufficient number of personnel with an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in accounting for complex or non-routine transactions, (ii) the fact that our policies and procedures with respect to the review, supervision and monitoring of our accounting and reporting functions were either not designed and in place or not operating effectively; (iii) our inability to complete the timely closing of financial books at the quarter and fiscal year end, and (iv) incomplete segregation of duties in certain types of transactions and processes.

Specifically, management did not design and maintain sufficient procedures and controls related to revenue recognition including those related to ensuring accuracy of revenue recognized from non-routine transactions such as the sales of LotteryLink Credits. As a result, we determined that there was an overstatement of revenue in the consolidated statement of operations of approximately $52.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, which required a restatement of the previously issued financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 contained in the Amended 2021 Annual Report.

We have begun implementing remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting and to remediate the identified material weaknesses, including (i) adding personnel with sufficient accounting knowledge; (ii) adopting a more rigorous period-end review process for financial reporting; (iii) adopting improved period close processes and accounting processes, and (iv) clearly defining and documenting the segregation of duties for certain transactions and processes. Management has expanded and will continue to enhance our system of identifying transactions and evaluating and implementing the accounting standards that apply to our financial statements, including through enhanced analyses by our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. We intend to continue take steps to remediate the material weaknesses described above and further continue re-assessing the design of controls, the testing of controls and modifying processes designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting. The Company plans to continue to assess its internal controls and procedures and intends to take further action as necessary or appropriate to address any other matters it identifies or are brought to its attention. We will not be able to fully remediate these material weaknesses until these steps have been completed and have been operating effectively for a sufficient period of time. The implementation of our remediation will be ongoing and will require validation and testing of the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over a sustained period of financial reporting cycles. We may also conclude that additional measures may be required to remediate the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.

We cannot assure you that the measures we take will be sufficient to remediate the material weaknesses we identified or avoid the identification of additional material weaknesses in the future. If the steps we take do not remediate the material weaknesses in a timely manner, there could continue to be a reasonable possibility that this control deficiency or others could result in another material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

For more information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors - Public Company Operating Risks - If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the trading price of our common stock and warrants may be materially and adversely affected.”

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Except as otherwise described herein, there was no change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.