Public Gaming July/August 2016

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30 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // July/August 2016
Standardized National Account
System Interface & API
(Application Programming
Interface): How might the industry
define a universal language to
enable faster retail innovation;
i.e. a set of routines, protocols,
and tools for building software
applications and an interface that
provides a single platform for seam-
less inter-operability, dramatically
reducing the costs and time-lines
required by Lotteries and their com-
mercial partners to implement new
games, technologies, and standard-
ized business practices? How does
this kind of initiative benefit Retail-
ers, Lottery, and the Players alike?
How do we define the appropriate
business model, and who might
host it? What are the obstacles to
implementation, how might they be
overcome, and how quickly can this
be executed?
Moderator:
Gary Grief,
Executive Director,
Texas Lottery,
Chair of the Powerball Group
Panelists:
Gardner Gurney,
Director, Division of the
Lottery New York State
Gaming Commission
Carole Hedinger,
Executive Director,
New Jersey Lottery
Terry Presta,
Executive Director,
Kansas Lottery
Paul Riley,
Vice President Product Marketing
and Interactive Wagering, IGT
Following is an edited synopsis of the panel discussion held at PGRI SMART-Tech on April 8 in New York. You can view a video
of the complete presentation at . Edited by Paul Jason, PGRI.
Gary Grief: We spend so much effort trying to develop new products, new games,
promotions, and new methods to sell our existing products. And yet, the two main
levers we have to drive growth are same store sales and retailer expansion. That’s
why we try to serve and support and optimize the relationship with our retailers,
and optimize the retail shopping experience for the consumer. Thankfully, there is
still lots of room to continue to grow sales by improving in those areas. And retail
expansion certainly continues to be a great way for us to grow our sales. The invest-
ment for cost-effective expansion of the brick and mortar retail network is daunting.
Retail attrition, between 3% and 10%, is a problem too. It can be a challenge to find
retailers who are willing to sell our proprietary, labor-intensive, complex product in
their environment. Our product is age-restricted, requires a separate terminal, and a
separate communications network. It has secure inventory with significant liability
for our retailers. And the 5% to 6% commission they are paid constitutes a profit
margin that is much lower than other CPG’s.
We can no longer dictate to retailers all the terms, conditions and methods of how
to sell our products. Retailers are raising their expectations for us to integrate with
more sophisticated technologies, IT platforms, and standardized processes. Retailers
like Wal-Mart and Target and CVS are leveraging IT to increase efficiencies and re-
duce costs across the entire spectrum of operations. Data from all different channels
(transactions, sales reports, customer loyalty programs, etc.) are being captured and
leveraged to guide ongoing changes, improvements to operations, and modernization
of POS’s and marketing and promotional standards. These changes are producing
CREATING THE
TRULY OPEN,
FLUID, DYNAMIC IT
INFRASTRUCTURE
THAT SMOOTHS
THE PATH
FOR RAPID
DEPLOYMENT
OF INNOVATION