Public Gaming International Magazine March/April 2021

26 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2021 F or an industry built on attracting customers to retail locations who ask for a product and, until recently, only pay cash for the product, lotteries have deftly built the type of web presence today’s consumers have come to expect over the past decade-plus of learning to love the online world. With the advent of iLottery, players are now asked to create online accounts, enter social security and bank routing numbers, and actually purchase products through a web site. is process introduces an entirely new player journey. ankfully, the lottery industry boasts problem-solving business partners who have worked with lotteries to solve many vexing issues over many years. For iLottery, they started with the basics – web site design – and moved to the next step – marketing – and are now focused on the future – revenue generation. Judging by the results of the lotteries that o er di erent forms of iLottery, the clear vision combined with hard work is paying o . As more states launch iLottery programs or explore a digital future, the experiences of the pioneers and their technology partners will help inform the next wave of digital innovation and the online platforms that support it. With the rst U.S. iLottery programs launched almost ten years ago, there is a wealth of experience and informa- tion available on how to successfully launch an iLottery program and ensure an ongoing ow of revenue. A critical facet of iLottery is the high-level of entertainment value. e evolution of digital gaming in general has resulted in players wanting to see lottery games presented in engaging, exciting forms (think Madden NFL but with lottery games). And lotteries are challenging business partners to create content which will keep players returning to their sites and play their games, and explore new games. At Scienti c Games, which oversees iLottery and digital programs for the Pennsylvania Lottery, this area is the responsibility of Merv Huber-Calvo, Director, iLottery Growth Marketing. He sees the challenges facing lotteries coming from all areas, including other forms of gaming. “As the pace of online gaming expansion accelerates across the U.S., lotteries launching online/mobile sales are more likely to face pressure from commercial operators in competitive markets,” Merv said. “Now more than ever, it’s critical for lotteries to keep players entertained by creating a portfolio of high-quality digital instant games with competitive payouts that perform well and drive online revenues. MERV HUBER-CALVO, SCIENTIFIC GAMES “Securing access to a high volume of high-quality game content is crucial,” he said. “ is includes the ability to integrate rst- and third-party content. ere is no better player engagement tool than launching new games, which is highly e ective at retaining and reactivating players. It has been shown that higher frequencies of game launch events lead to higher rates of player retention and higher revenues for operators. And in competitive markets, there is a strong correla- tion between the total number of games that operators o er in their product portfolio, and the revenue performance of those operators. In order to satisfy the appetite for a high frequency of high-quality game launches, lotteries need access to an increasing number of industry leading game content suppliers.” At Scienti c Games, Merv and his team work with lotteries to analyze the data produced by their programs. “Like many other companies serving consumers today, the lottery must invest in customer relationship management (CRM) programs to modernize its e orts to retain existing players and recruit new iLOTTERY MOVING FORWARD PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE WITH AN EYE TO THE PAST Jim Acton, Lottery Industry Consultant, Acton Strategies