34 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2024 It’s hard to believe that a little more than a year ago most of the world had never heard of an AI tool called “Chat GPT” — let alone been inundated with commentary and predictions about the much wider realm of generative artificial intelligence. Yet, in less than a week, this one tool went from zero to 1 million users and dominated tech headlines throughout 2023. That explosion of attention, seemingly out of nowhere, is just another example of how head-spinningly fast changes in the technology landscape can be, impacting consumers and, often by extension, the lottery business. Looking ahead to spot such seismic changes on the horizon is one of the reasons why IGT continues to invest in consumer trend research, partnering with globally recognized firms such as UK-based Foresight Factory to regularly publish Special Reports such as 2024’s “5 Future Forward Trends Driving Lottery Growth.” Observed Michelle Carney, IGT Vice President Global Lottery Marketing, “Not only do many of the learnings help to shape IGT’s product plans, sharing them externally is in line with our longstanding commitment to support responsible growth for customers and the industry. Hopefully these efforts provide some ideas for lotteries’ consideration or serve as a headsup on shifts that many of us have no way of detecting from our everyday lines of sight.” In fact, last year’s Trend Report did discuss the larger topic of AI: Both how it can be used by lotteries as a decision-making tool, and also why lotteries need to overcome the legacy challenges that do not allow for an aggregated, single-player view — which can enable them to use AI in a responsible manner to tailor specific games, promotions, and featured content to individual players. Fast-forward one year, and the industry’s discussions around AI – prompted largely by that headline-grabbing tool – are now commonplace. “Trends don’t come out of nowhere, yet even when there’s a hint or a collective sense of what the important trends might be, our aim with the Report is to help think through the ramifications specifically for lotteries and lottery consumers,” noted Carney. “How will our industry uniquely be affected? And what might the opportunities be that IGT can support our customers in pursuing? We offer the Report to help shine a spotlight on the narrower aspects or points of evolution that might present new ideas for lotteries to take action.” What’s Trending for 2024? “In the current Report for 2024, two of the five trends focus on how consumer behavior and sentiment lines up to their affiliation with brands such as lottery. And how – given AI’s potential for more useful data and player customization — do people want to play, versus how they play currently,” said Carney. Read further for more about those two trends, and visit IGT.com/2024Trends to download the full 2024 Trend Report. Where Do Consumer Trend Lines Point in 2024? Future Forward Trends Driving Lottery Growth A Special Report Screen Time SHAMRCK RAINBOW LADYBUG CHRRIES CHRRIES SEVEN HORSHOE HORSHOE DICE
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