PGIJANFEBMAGAZINE2021a

6 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 From the Publisher Retail is still king. That’s a great thing as no other games-of-chance operator has the massive retail network that Team Lottery has. Most other business models can be easily and inexpensively replicated, especially online models. So it is a beautiful thing when Lottery’s proprietary asset proves to be so valuable. Jim Acton consulted leaders on the commercial side of the industry to delve into the massive changes shaking the retail industry and how Lottery can turn them to maximum advantage for the benefit of players and stakeholders. What great timing for the judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to rule in favor of states’ rights to decide regulatory policy for games-of-chance within their own borders. The U.S. Dept of Justice was trying to broaden the purview of the 1961 Wire Act to apply not just to sports betting but to other games-of-chance like lottery gaming. Congratulations to the New Hampshire Attorney General office who, on behalf of the New Hampshire Lottery, challenged the legality of this opinion, and won. Other states and the entire industry owe them a big thanks as their fortitude and principled actions to defend the rights and the interests of states, of their lotteries and of the good causes that depend on lottery funding for smoothing a path for other states to offer their products online without fear of reprisal from the federal government. (Though it is still possible that the U.S.DoJ may take the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, in which case the highest court of the land would hopefully decline to even hear the case or rule against the U.S.DoJ if they did.) The New Hampshire Lottery was established in 1964, making it the first U.S. lottery in the modern era. Now, almost sixty years later, the NH Lottery continues to be a leader in digital transformation, modernization, and diversification of the game portfolio. When I asked Director Charles McIntyre to put this amazing trajectory into historical context, I did not expect the article (page 16) to be so thoughtful and expansive. Thank you, Charlie! It is so exciting to see an industry veteran, someone who has served in the same lottery for sixteen years, be appointed to the leadership position. As president and CEO of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Mary Harville is applying a vision that is borne of experience and understanding of the business. And that benefits all KLC stakeholders. What also comes across in our interview is her respect and appreciation for her team that is leading the Lottery on a tear, launching new games through new channels of distribution, and breaking sales and profit records every month. These are trying times, but the Executive Director of the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming Beth Bresnahan is tackling more initiatives – major ones like sports betting and iLottery – and not in a moderated, sequenced agenda but all at once, or at least in rapid-fire fashion. The DC Lottery bears no resemblance to what it was even a year ago and is quite an exciting story of a will to overcome obstacles and tenacious focus on execution in what is a wildly complex regulatory environment and during a most inhospitable consumer marketing environment. The common theme for these lotteries and so many others seems to be that the adversity of turbulent times can be a catalyst to positive change, to innovate and move faster than ever before. Since we have to figure out new ways to do things anyway, we may as well take the opportunity to make more sweeping changes to achieve more ambitious goals. And why not apply the crisis mind-set of fast-tracking the decision-making process to everything we do just because it is the more effective way to operate? Thank you also to Pat McHugh (Scientific Games), Michelle Carney (IGT), and Ian Hughes (GLI). So much of the brain-trust and resources required to drive change and progress comes from our commercial partners. And it’s been a lifetime since they have been called upon to deliver this number and variety of large-scale solutions to unanticipated challenges and in warp-speed time. Read their interviews for insights into how consumer behaviour and technological innovation are driving change and vice-versa in a positive-feedback cycle, how the market-place is being transformed as a result, and get a preview of what is in the pipeline for solutions that will keep Team Lottery out in front of the game-of-chance industry. And thank you to Scientific Games, Abacus Lottery Solutions, Carmanah Signs, and NeoPollard for your editorial contributions to this issue! We have changed our agenda of PGRI Live! virtual conferences. The first will be held from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm March 17 and 18 … 2021, the year that iLottery transformed the gaming landscape Follow PublicGaming.com (PGRI home-page and news website) for virtual conference and webinar updates, and to track the production process as we work together to create a new kind of experience, digitally transformed to not just enable but enrich and enhance the joy of working and striving together. Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine “Since we have to figure out new ways to do things anyway, we may as well take the opportunity to make more sweeping changes to achieve more ambitious goals.”