Public Gaming Magazine July/August 2020

18 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2020 By Jim Acton Lottery Industry Consultant INTRODUCTION FROM LOTTERIES TO VENDORS, PANDEMIC PROVIDES CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES COVID-19 AND THE LOTTERY INDUSTRY As the lottery representatives who attended the PGRI Lottery Expo in Miami parted ways in early March, no one could have imagined it would their last in-person meeting for many, many months. By mid-March, many of us had retreated to the safety of our homes; handshakes and hugs were replaced with Zoom meetings. With the nationwide spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing stay-at-home/safe-at-home orders given by many Gov- ernors, life was turned upside down across the country. The fortunate amongst us were only dealing with barking dogs during video conferences. So many others have been either battling the COVID-19 virus themselves or worrying about friends and loved ones. For those in the lottery industry, the concerns were multi- layered and the impacts were both small and large: n How would employees deal with working from home, many for the first time in their careers? n Do daily drawings continue with staff operating ball machines? n Is it safe to allow lottery retailers to continue to sell lottery products? n How will the vendor-lottery relationship change with few or no in-person visits? n What will be the revenue expectations for the new fiscal year and beyond? The passage of time will provide context to all these issues. While many lotteries saw little revenue impact (and many, in fact, have enjoyed sales boosts as the lottery provided the only available source of entertain- ment), others were hit hard and the pain will continue. Some lotteries had to make the difficult decision to lay off employees. As the lottery industry slowly returns to normalcy, it's helpful to look back over the past few months, review what has taken place in the industry, and discuss where the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have left us. In this special section, we will take a look at how the sudden shift in lottery sales due to pandemic-related stay-at-home orders has renewed the push for iLottery in many states. We will examine how some of the lot- tery industry's most important retail locations, deemed as "essential businesses," are working to streamline and speed-up lottery purchases. And we’ll look at how lotteries have used social media and other online communications tools to stay in touch with critical constituencies.