38 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 Chris Shaban, Executive Vice President of Global Business and Customer Development updates us on the latest with NeoGames and what 2024 has in store for the leading iLottery provider. The iLottery industry in North America has continued to grow rapidly, and 2023 saw even more of a focus on digital programs, further highlighting the benefits that a high-performing online program brings. As our industry continues to mature, a strong platform and a broad content portfolio featuring a variety of game themes and formats is a necessity to maximize engagement, therefore generating higher revenues and strong returns to good causes. Chris Shaban discusses some of the excitement that these digital growth opportunities are bringing to our ever-changing industry. “It is an extremely exciting period to be in the lottery industry. At NeoGames, we are working closely with lotteries across the world to anticipate market trends and player preferences so we can stay several steps ahead of the curves in technology innovation and market competitiveness. And in a market that is guided by gaming restrictions and local political conditions, collaboration within our industry is key to opening new markets for digital iLottery programs.” With the recent acquisition of Aspire, Pariplay, and BtoBet to add additional products, services and resources, and the anticipated merger with Aristocrat, which is expected to be completed by the first half of the year 2024, NeoGames has continued to expand their offerings as the leading and trusted iLottery partner to the global market. NeoGames has remained steadfast in their focus of enhancing their digital technology platform and industry leading content, resulting in a lottery customer base that has doubled in less than three years. “Key to our success is the strength of our customer-facing teams, which continues to develop and grow – especially in the United States – as we support the business plans of our existing customers, and as we add new customers” added Shaban. “The priorities of our global and local teams are to listen to lotteries to collaborate, find solutions, and overcome challenges. Those elements drive us to be the long-term trusted partner for lotteries in their wagering and non-wagering digital journeys, and we are excited to work with both customers and potential customers, including those where iLottery is not yet permissible.” Bringing innovation and a comprehensive product suite to the lottery industry In the digital space, a versatile portfolio of products and services are the essential tools to best support the specific needs of lotteries, given the range of requirements seen in state regulations, and political and business environments. Shaban details the importance of continuous dialogue with their partners: “The NeoGames suite of products and services are delivered after talking at length with lotteries, understanding their requirements and supporting the player journeys, starting from registration. Additionally, our single codebase and monthly releases are a profound advantage to our customers, ensuring they have the most current version of our software with upgrades each month, enjoying all global enhancements from every customer.” “NeoCube, is our advanced data analytics solution and provides our customers with tools to access real-time insights across the entire span of their digital activities,” said Shaban. “As lotteries continue to build their digital capacities, understanding these insights will ensure we can react quickly and effectively to any pattern of player behaviour.” “To complement the analytics from NeoCube,” Shaban continued, “we offer our customer real-time marketing from our NeoEngage customer engagement platform. This comprehensive product segments players and interacts, engages, and offers them exclusively what they prefer.” “Beyond customer data and player engagement, NeoGames has made a significant investment to build our in-house content studio to offers an array of entertaining, engaging content. A recent example of content developed by NeoGames Studio is Desert Fantasy. This award-winning game has become Virginia Lottery’s most lucrative game ever, generating more than $136,000,000 in its first 180 days. Shaban commented: “With a talented development and delivery team, NeoGames Studio offers a wide variety of content and has become the leading iLottery content provider to lotteries across the globe, capturing the imaginations of players across regulated markets.” Collaborating to advocate for a strong future for the lottery industry Along with offering a strong suite of products and services, NeoGames agrees that the lottery industry works better when there are open channels of communication and collaboration on key issues, especially given the political and competitive challenges lotteries face today and in the future. “Through the partnerships NeoGames now enjoys with industry organizations such as the World Lottery Association, the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, European Lotteries, and others,” Shaban said, “we fully appreciate the importance of these partnerships helping lotteries, suppliers, and others in the industry work together toward common objectives.” In addition, NeoGames works closely with lotteries to proactively highlight positive messages to public officials and other interested parties. “Collectively, we must continue to align and advocate for the issues that are important to our stakeholders, including increased revenue, responsible play, consumer protection, omnichannel retail and digital growth, and reaching new players with strong player journeys,” Shaban concluded. n NeoGames: Working with Lotteries on their Digital Journey
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