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// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // November/December 2016
bring in entirely new consumer groups. We
promote the multi-media access and we
see that some of the TV audience is also
accessing the online draw and vice versa.
After all, isn’t that the way we all actually
live? We are both online and off-line and
want our media content to be made avail-
able through multiple channels. Our strat-
egy going forward is to make it even more
available across social media and Mobile to
connect with our audience wherever and
whenever and however they prefer.
The televised draws would seem to serve the
additional purpose of helping your traditional
players migrate to multiple channels, creating
a bridge for the Lottery and its players to in-
tegrate new channels, new ways to connect
with your audience, without leaving your core
players behind.
M. DeCheser:
That is the way we look
at it. We had hoped the television audi-
ence would easily migrate over to the live-
streaming draws. We saved a lot of money
by not paying for the TV broadcast. So we
jumped in with both feet and built an in-
house production studio with the ambition
to leapfrog into the 21st century and digi-
tize our connection to the players. Now,
even though we found that the televised
draw is something we want to retain for
the benefit of our traditional players, we
are very glad for the investments we made
because it is the combination of both that
is by far the most powerful. As you point
out, there is a synergy that creates a seam-
less easily-navigable player journey to move
from TV to online at their own pace.
Do you think that as digital natives mature,
the medium of choice will move from TV to
online over time?
M. DeCheser:
Absolutely. We see this
happening already. But we do not have to
predict the future. We just need to know
what we need to do to meet the needs of
our current players while also positioning
ourselves to meet the expectations of the
next generation of consumers. We will
likely provide the televised draw as long as
we see a demand for it. And we will build
out our online connections because that
We have a draw game called Five Card Cash. It’s the first RNG game the
New Jersey Lottery is doing on a daily basis. We use an RNG to generate
the results. But what’s actually truly generated within the RNG machine is
an animation file that assigns the different numbers that were drawn to the
variables that match certain cards within a deck. That animation file shows
a dealer throwing down cards, and the numbers that those card faces display
are correlated with numbers that have been drawn on the RNG. Research has
shown that RNGs aren’t as trusted as traditional ball drawing machines where
the viewer actually sees the balls bubbling around, coming up the tubes, and
tumbling out with a number on them. That’s really what people want to see.
The RNG procurement specifically asked for the RNG to also have a video
output that supported full broadcast quality HD. We connected this output
directly to our live broadcast switcher in our in house control room and incor-
porated this live RNG draw into our nightly suite of games. That’s what creates
the transparency that people trust. So, we have our Pick3, Pick4, our Jersey
Cash5, our Pick six, and now we have our RNG generated Five Card Cash as
part of our nightly streamed lineup. A great mix of traditional ball machine
games and a new RNG game. I am not aware of any other state lottery that
broadcasts or streams a mix of traditional draw games with RNG draw games.
It was not cost-effective for us televise this RNG draw, but we think that is
fine because it really appeals more to the modern consumer who is more likely
to appreciate the live-stream online anyway. It has the feeling of a computer-
generated animated poker game and that will appeal to a younger demographic.
Then we migrate the online broadcast audience into our evening suite of
games. When we’re done with our Pick6, we throw up a graphic for everyone
on our television broadcast channel to direct the viewer to go to our online
channel to see the results of our Five Card Cash draw. That is how we are try-
ing to align our live-stream channel and our broadcast channel as just two dif-
ferent avenues that show you the same results. We’re really trying to hold their
hand and walk the players through a process of connecting with us online as
well as off-line. We show them how easy it is in a way that helps them see that
it is all the same event, that the live-streamed draw is really the same thing as
the televised draw. It’s bridging that gap between those that watch online and
those that watch on television.
What’s nice about the RNG system we have in place now from Smartplay
is that it could always be added upon, scaled up. There could be two, three,
four different games added to this RNG system. Now that we have tested the
water with the Five Card Cash game, and see that our players have accepted
it, become comfortable with it and trust it … we will explore options for ex-
panding on it.
—Michael DeCheser
CAN COMPUTERIZED RNG
(RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR)
DRAWS BE TURNED INTO A
MARKETING EVENT LIKE THE
TRADITIONAL BALL MACHINES?