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// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // November/December 2016
As we move forward, we are looking at
ways to target our design and innovation to
engage specific markets of players and ex-
pand their play and our reach. Further we are
looking at new tools to reach those markets
that have the potential to be more active.
Lottery would seem to be the ideal ‘product’
to employ the promotional strategy of Event-
marketing. How big a role does event-mar-
keting play with the Arizona Lottery?
G. Edgar:
Event marketing plays an
important role in our current marketing
efforts here at the Arizona Lottery. We le-
verage our presence at targeted events to
bring the lottery experience to core players
and connect with new audiences. Wheth-
er present at a major sporting event, con-
ducting a media engagement, or holding
a monthly promotion at one of our three
Arizona offices, we’re always trying to find
ways to get our players excited about lot-
tery. By hosting “buy X, get Y” style pro-
motions at our events, players get excited
about the chance to get something extra
along with the purchase of a game they
already enjoy playing on a regular basis.
What is your after-action takeaway from the
incredible $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot
of last year? What are some things that we
as an industry could do going forward to ex-
tract even more value from the publicity and
brand awareness of a big jackpot like that?
G. Edgar:
Our focus today on the
$1.58 billion Powerball is managing the
expectations of our constituency on what
will happen this January. For Arizona that
jackpot amounted to a $20 million wind-
fall for our beneficiary pool, which was
amazing. But as we work through FY17,
we are working to make sure that people
understand that this jackpot does not
come every year.
In terms of how to utilize the extreme
amount of publicity, I think we were all
taken by surprise at how quickly the $1
billion threshold was breached. Looking
at the models I don’t think we will see that
precipitous rise again soon. I think there
is opportunity for us all to be developing
communications strategy that as we reach
thresholds we can activate messaging that
drives the sales, but also drives messaging
on impact. If one out of every ten stories
generated on the $1.58 billion Powerball
included messaging about Lottery impact,
we would have furthered our mission in
an unprecedented way.
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form to bring these lessons directly to you. For example, many of
you attended the iLottery seminar that was adjacent to the PGRI
Conference in New York last spring. We heard from people from
around the globe who have been offering iLottery for 10, 15, even
20 years. Their experience and insights were invaluable to direc-
tors in the U.S., most of whom have not been able to move into
iLottery yet. We learned so much that will help us avoid costly and
time-consuming mistakes. The WLA serves as the hub for enabling
that kind of interaction and sharing that helps us to be equipped
with the knowledge and tools to stay ahead of the competition and
continue to be loved by the consumer.
The second front is the political and regulatory side of the busi-
ness. We need to stand united, with a singular voice that broad-
casts to the world the worthy mission of Government-Lotteries.
We need to make sure that everyone, all consumers not just play-
ers, all media not just our local media, all political stakeholders at
all levels of government not just our jurisdictional constituents,
appreciates and respects and defends the role that Government-
Lotteries perform for society. The WLA is the institution that
brings us together to stand tall in defense of our industry against
those that are working mightily to change regulations that protect
the consumer and protect the Lottery model. Let’s make no mis-
take—Government-Lotteries and the Good Causes they support
are under attack and require government protection. The margins
in commercial game categories that do not have this protection
operate like all other businesses operate—that is on 3% to 5%
net margins. Those margins enable them to deliver prize-payout
percentages that exceed 90% and higher. That situation already
exists in categories like sports-betting and much of casino-style
iGaming. Government lotteries simply can’t do that and continue
to deliver the kind of financial support that the Good Causes
we support have come to depend on. I have to hope and believe
that if our political stakeholders understood this picture that they
would all stand up to defend the Lottery model.
Unfortunately, we know it is not that simple. Political agendas
that determine regulatory and taxation policies are driven by a wide
variety of factors, including well-funded lobbying and PR cam-
paigns of those who would deregulate the industry. That is why we,
the community of Government-Lotteries, must stand together and
make our voices heard. Individually, our voices will not be valued
at the levels required to influence the shaping of regulatory policy.
Together, we are a $260 billion industry that delivers $90 billion in
funding that helps society. That is an amazing thing!
The facts are on our side. But the facts won’t matter if we do not
succeed at convincing the shapers of public policy to recognize the
tremendous value of Government-Lotteries to society. And we all
know that won’t happen if we function as a fractured industry of
lone voices in the wilderness. We must stand together, and formu-
late a unified message and agenda to get that message heard by the
political sectors that determine regulatory policy. And, with your ac-
tive support, it is the WLA that can be the institution that brings us
together and channels our message as one singular and powerful plea
to preserve and protect the Public Trust that is Government-Lottery.
I encourage all of you to become even more engaged with the
World Lottery Association. It is an organization dedicated to serv-
ing you and we welcome your involvement, your input and guid-
ance, and your support. See you at the World Lottery Summit in
Singapore in November!
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How the World Lottery Association Serves its Members
…
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