W hile the lottery industry awaits the anticipated and expected addition of more iLottery programs across the country, the 13 lotteries which offer some version of online sales are providing a wealth of information for their lottery colleagues. In the time since the current longest-tenured iLottery program launched in Michigan in 2014, the delivery of lottery games and content to players has undergone a seismic shift along with how lottery is played. It's not enough to simply digitize a paper-based scratch ticket and provide a virtual quarter. Players expect innovation and variety, especially chose new to lottery, and iLottery is changing the entire player experience. A handful of lotteries and vendors are working on how to energize chis genre of games - both iLottery MARK MICHALKO and online draw games. North Carolina Lottery Director Mark Michalko, whose lottery has featured an iLottery platform for almost 10 years, led a panel of iLottery veterans on both sides of the table: Brad Cummings, Founder and CEO, EQL Games Stephanie Weyant Fidler, Deputy Executive Director, Marketing and Product, Pennsylvania Lottery 22 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 Scott Kenyon, Digital Games Manager, Virginia Lottery Derek Levesque, Director, Digital Content Product Management, IGT Mike Lightman, Chief Commercial Officer, Instant Win Gaming (IWG) Merv Huber, Senior Director, Digital Growth, Scientific Games Mark started offthe discussion asking for some thoughts on the performance of current iLottery games, and how they are performing relative to retail games. With two of the strongest iLottery programs represented - Pennsylvania and Virginia - information came straight from the source. Stephanie Weyant, who oversees Pennsylvania's iLottery program, kicked things off. STEPHANIE WEYANT "iLoccery is definitely a growth category for both us and the ocher lotteries offering the products online," she said. "Our stats show chat iLottery is attracting new, younger players. By 'younger' I don't necessarily mean millennials but younger compared to the traditional lottery players who tend to skew a little older. It's also about six percent of our overall profits so it's having an impact on our bottom as well as top lines. iLottery is still small compared to retail but it's incremental and chat's the important part right now." Virginia touts one of the newest iLottery programs and the results have been incredible, with over $807 million in total iLottery sales during its first fiscal year from July 2020 to June 2021. Scott Kenyon said, "Our focus is on growth - bringing in new players, expanding our player SCOTT KENYON base, registering as many players as possible. Our month-over-month sales are quite strong. We continue to add new products and chat helps keep sales high. We have great vendor partners who work with us to make sure we offer the most innovative games chat will appeal to current players and attract new players. And we continue to refine the process through which they register and play their first games. It is important to keep it as simple as possible to sign on as many players as possible." Mark segued to the difference in player experience online and at retail. "We've enjoyed great success in selling in a retail setting as we've really honed our offer and how it is presented," he said. "But online iLottery play is a newer platform. And the online player - both einstants and draw - has a different experience than at retail. What's that experience like and what's different about it?" Continued onpage42
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