Public Gaming Magazine July/August 2020

16 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2020 present and future of iLottery games. After all, IWG provides eInstant games to more than 20 WLA/NASPL-member lotteries and has been selected as a supplier to every U.S. lottery o ering eInstants. “Today, it’s not about the number of game titles available to lottery players, but rather the wide variety of game mechanics. ere’s a huge di erence,” Rhydian said. “And, there’s an opportunity for us to use things like multi- player games and progressive jackpots with online instant tickets to revolutionize people’s experiences with lotteries. “People use the term ‘social’ around lotteries without backing it up. We now have the opportunity to start experimenting and innovating in our own space, working on ways to make people feel like part of a community. As the laws start permitting, iLottery can allow lotteries to seize opportunities to attract new players, and not be scared o by the challenges.” Rhydian continued, “ ere is a player-base out there that is not being served. ey’re not necessarily unhappy but they aren’t being served. Adding these players to the customer mix means incremental sales today, and customers for the future as well.” IMPACT ON BRICK-AND-MORTAR Like discussions that are taking place in many jurisdictions, the topic of the impact of iLottery on brick-and-mortar retail sparked an animated and informative discussion. Any lottery considering launching online sales needs to weigh the impact on its retailer base and the opposition it might face. How do lotteries handle this debate? With the facts. “I remember walking into a retailer just after iLottery had been approved and the owner says to me, ‘Mr. McIntyre, what are you going to do when these stores close? How are you going to help these families?’” Charlie said. “It was awful. “Fast forward to the following year, we had launched iLottery and were the fastest growing lottery for instant ticket sales, up around 8% year-over-year,” he said. “ e result of the iLottery launch was not even a blip on the retail sales front. And by the way, we took 5.5% of our pro ts and gave it back to the stores as part of an instant ticket sales incentive program. So, ask any NH Lottery retailer and most will say they have no issue with iLottery.” For Pennsylvania, the tactic was inclusion – make the retailers feel like they are part of the solution, and the future. As head of the lottery’s marketing group and iLottery program, Stephanie tackled this from both a marketer and business person’s outlook. “We told the retailers that it was incumbent on us to prove to them the program wouldn’t hurt them,” she said. “And I think that’s what we’ve done, by making them part of some of the decisions, giving them the opportunities to earn money by referring customers and selling a product, WebCash, for players to load money into their accounts. So we provided them with things they could do at retail to promote the program and be a part of iLottery right from the start. Rhydian, whose games are featured in most iLottery platforms, and Shannon, who helped launch one of the country’s rst and most nancially-successful online sites, agreed that including retailers right from the start is critical. Rhydian: “ e way that most of these lotteries have launched, including retailers and asking their opinions, is exactly how you need to do it. Reach out to the retailers, give them a reason to transform, create products that will actually give them a reason to come on board, and provide incentives that create a win-win for everyone.” Shannon: “Michigan is six years into iLottery and we are still adding ways to include the retail network. We want and need them to feel good about the program. We’ll never get 100% of the network on board. But if we show that we’re making an e ort to include and help retailers, most will stay with us for the long haul.” DATA: HOW TO USE IT e group homed in on the immense amount of data that is created from an iLottery program and, most importantly, how to use it. Historically, lotteries have struggled with implementing programs based on data they have collected. Now, iLottery allows for instant data collection and immediate contact with players. For Doug and his NeoPollard Interactive colleagues, the data allows lotteries to make informed decisions on how to reach players. “What’s interesting to me is how the data can drive the game development process,” he said. “What it shows me is how much we’ve been operating with one hand tied behind our backs in the retail space. When we evaluate the success of an instant game in retail, we use an index. It’s the most blunt instrument imaginable, right? It tells you nothing about the demographic. Why did people play? What parts did they like? What didn’t they like? We get none of those answers. Now we have the ability to do that, to extract more granular detail about why people play the games. Doug used the example of a game Charlie launched in New Hampshire – Holiday Cheer. It was launched as an online game in 2018 and made into a retail game in 2019. But the retail game included a code that provided free games of the eInstant Holiday Cheer if players opened an iLottery account. “Now we could see who the players are,” he said. “And we saw that they were younger players, how often they came back, what features kept them online a little longer. Oh, and on the retail side, it indexed at 124. at was all great news.” Rhydian agreed with Doug’s take on data and added that data also means you have to be ready to work hard. “Data is only as good as your ability to react to it,” he said. “You have to be exible, nimble, capable of producing promotions. Data will surprise you and you have to be ready to react to those surprises with action that enhances the games, the promotions, and value to the players.” Rhydian talked about the Jungle Tumble online game they launched in Pennsylvania last year which featured a cascading game mechanic. It was actually a scratch card with the player matching 3, 4, and 5 symbols but it looked like you were matching symbols in Data will surprise you and you have to be ready to react to those surprises with action that enhances the games, the promotions, and value to the players. Continued on page 58