Public Gaming International March/April 2021

28 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2021 the course of their ten years in the interna- tional lottery business, they have witnessed rsthand what it takes to successfully launch and support a digital program. “For lotteries, digital marketing, including search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media, and email, is commonplace within the overall marketing mix,” said Rhydian Fisher, CEO, Instant Win Gaming. “And most have established VIP clubs or loyalty programs to build their database. But iLottery requires a whole new set of skills as it is simultaneously a lottery’s rst venture into eCommerce, as well its rst experience with direct-to-consumer sales. “To prepare, lotteries must plan a total website refocus,” he said. “ e primary website purpose must transform from informational – a place for players to stay up-to-date on products and promotions, to eCommerce – becoming a lottery’s single largest source of sales. e most successful iLottery launches proactively embrace this challenge. Take a look at the Michigan Lottery’s homepage, for example. It is now, rst and foremost, an eCommerce website with most of its purpose being direct, online sales of its games.” As a game provider, Instant Win Gaming’s focus is singular – create games that are fun and drive revenue. Rhydian also suggests looking to other states for suggestions “First time iLottery purchases are predominantly e-Instants, and new players need to be served games that are familiar and fun,” he said “Return visits, and therefore player retention, is heavily driven by the e ectiveness of the e-Instant roadmap. Return players seek content that they see as new and fresh. Consider both the New Hampshire Lottery and Pennsyl- vania Lottery. ey, like their peer lotteries, release new games at least once every two weeks. ey analyze purchase history and then optimize their roadmaps with game- styles that are proven to engage. And their sales and CRM data serves as the scorecard for whether they’ve succeeded.” As more consumers use digital avenues for commerce, the expectation levels for lotteries have risen. at means the consumers expect lotteries to o er the same tools as companies such as Walmart, Target and Amazon. Business and technology partners are prepared to support their lottery operator clients to achieve ambitious goals. mkodo, a global app leader and part of the Pollard Banknote family of companies, is now aggressively supporting iLottery programs with the latest app technol- ogy, o ering the same functionality as lotteries’ web sites. SUE YOXAL, MKODO “Consumers expect an app to be part of the brand’s digital service o ering,” said Sue Yoxal, Executive Director of mkodo. “A brand without an app discoverable in the Apple App store and Google Play paves the way for com- petitors in the digital entertainment world to engage the users instead. When creating an app, it is important to always think: ‘how can I make this experience easy and fun?’ Players are seeking convenience (e.g. through the use of native features such as biometric login), ease and speed of use (e.g. through use of known navigation structures) and engaging design (e.g. through use of pleasing micro- animations). “A successful app will contain well-designed key user journeys, such as onboarding and registration, to create a frictionless user expe- rience and reinforce the value and integrity of the product,” she said. “Considering the value of features that o er convenience such as self-scanning a ticket to check if it is a winner, or pre-building a digital playslip to scan in-store for quicker ticket purchase, all work to maintain continued player engagement.” APPS THAT BRIDGE THE ONLINE AND OFF-LINE PLAYER JOURNEY ese lottery veterans have certainly turned the adage “ ose who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” on its head. ey have created the history, learned from it, honed it, taught it to others, and are living the results. ese actions have added hundreds of millions of dollars in much- needed revenue to state co ers. And it looks like the story of ever-increasing iLottery revenues will in fact be repeated for many years to come. n A MOBILE AUDIO-VISUAL EXPERIENCE THAT ENGAGES THE PLAYERS