Public Gaming Magazine July/August 2020

10 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2020 iLOTTERY EVOLUTION CONTINUES AT THE MICHIGAN LOTTERY DIGITAL LEAD SHANNON DEHAVEN PROVIDES UPDATES, FUTURE PLANS A fter six years working on the development, launch and operation of the online sales program for the Michigan Lottery, Shannon DeHaven has heard all manner of skepticism about the lottery’s program. • It will wreck the retailer network • Players won’t want to play a digital version of a ticket • e payouts are too high to make money But to use current lingo, Shannon “comes with receipts” which show that Michigan’s iLottery journey has been a commercial success for the lottery and retailers, and an economic boon to the state. is success has certainly quieted the critics, said Shannon, Deputy Director of Digital Operations. “It’s understandable – people have a natural fear of the unknown,” she said. “ ere can be con ict between the need for certainty and the need for change. “But here we are nearly six years later, and the Michigan Lottery was able to return more than $1 billion to good causes in FY19, and iLottery played a role in that number. And we expect that to only grow into the future.” While not the rst state to o er iLottery (MN Lottery holds that honor, although that program no longer exists), Michigan certainly set a standard for the industry. e lottery was headed by Scott Bowen, now SVP of Business Development for NeoPollard Interactive, and Shannon was a member of the digital team. “In 2014 when iLottery launched, Michigan Lottery had 174 employees and produced $742.8 million for Michigan’s K-12 schools. By all measures, we were a successful lottery,” she said. “Today, the lottery has just a few more employees and contributes more than $1 billion to the state’s schools. In addition to incremental lift from iLottery, we continue to see retail sales grow. I personally feel expanding our sales channels was critical to the lottery’s success.” Like any success story, there are many chapters with ups and downs, positives and negatives but, ultimately, results that allow the business to continue to ourish. While others might want to focus on payouts and product mix, Shannon thinks there is an easy explanation for the success of the Michigan program – the entire online user experience from the registration experience, to marketing to games. e game experience is critical. Why do some scratch tickets sell better at retail than others? e look of the ticket, call outs, how the winning experience is unveiled to the player. It’s similar for iLottery in that all the details and attributes determine the success of the game. “Digital has a very di erent user experience than a traditional product. e retail location lends itself to a more extended play style,” Shannon said. “ e players purchase their tickets, go home, wait for the drawing. Or they scratch a ticket in the store, in their car or at home. “But with digital, the play is on the go. And it’s a quicker pace. ese di erences mean o ering a higher payout for digital products allows us to give the same extended experience to our players online.” In early March, prior to the nationwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shannon DeHaven of the Michigan Lottery spoke to the assembled lottery industry representatives at the PGRI Smart-Tech 2020 conference in Miami. Shannon is the Deputy Director of Digital Operations for the Michigan Lottery and after more than six years working on the program and four years overseeing its success, she has become one of the country’s foremost experts in iLottery. Shannon DeHaven, MI Lottery Deputy Director, Digital Operations Michigan Lottery’s iLottery Net Gaming Revenue