Public Gaming International March/April 2021

30 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2021 Investing to Meet Evolving Player Needs Derek Levesque, Product Director IGT PlayDigital Lottery T he onset of the pandemic last year brought increased consumer desire for contactless touch- points and remote play. e accompa- nying rise in lottery player registrations and engagement with eInstant lottery products resulted in a dramatic 89% YOY annual growth rate for the eInstant category in the U.S. We expect this signi cant growth trend to continue in FY2021 as new behaviors become established and players continue to enjoy new forms of entertainment. Of course, revenues to lotteries and returns to bene ciaries will grow along with the number of states o ering eInstants. With growth comes the need to continue evolving the eInstant product, because player acquisi- tion and retention will rely on o ering ever- more dynamic games and engaging content across all categories of play. IGT keeps player acquisition and retention at the forefront of the game development process. Knowing that every player has their own preferences when it comes to games, we do extensive research and analysis to ensure that we are serving our lottery customers by satisfying the needs of their many local player segments in the U.S. and across the globe. In this respect, eInstants (or instant win games) are an extremely interesting product As North American lotteries advance efforts to offer eInstant games, IGT’s new development program is set to deliver more entertainment to players and more returns to lotteries, with an expanded pipeline of innovative, high-performance PlayInstantWin games. The U.S. lottery industry has seen a steady rise in new states adopting eInstant game sales since the product’s 2014 introduction in Michigan and Georgia. Kentucky launched in 2016 and over the past 5 years, that list has grown to a total of eight jurisdictions ─ with the Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. lotteries being the newest.