Public Gaming International May/June 2020

42 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2020 LOTTERY INDUSTRY LEADERS SHARE THE VISION GORDON MEDENICA, Director, Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Agency I think we will be living with the aftershocks of this pandemic for some time, at least until an e ective vaccine is developed. is could be months, even years away, during which time we will need to get the economy moving again before the pandemic is truly behind us. is will mean social distancing, face masks, gloves, etc., for some period of time, as normal daily routines resume. I also think the impact on retailers in general will be devastating, as the pandemic accelerates the move to online shopping and home delivery. Lotteries are in a good position to transition to the online world, since the biggest barrier for years has been political, not technical or consumer demand. e pandemic should hopefully bring down the last of these barriers, with even retailers unable to mount a continuing resistance to the transition. Lottery products are essentially "ephemeral" and "experiential" and don't truly require a physical product. e dreams that we sell work just as well with an online buy-in. I think the myth of lotteries being recession proof has been shattered. Lottery sales are down in the range of 20% to 35%, and given the seismic shift in the retail environment, they may not come back fully as retailers adjust to new operating protocols demanded by the pandemic. Lotteries remain a compelling and very human form of entertainment and excitement; that part of human nature will not disappear. Once online lottery play becomes established, it can become a very social form of entertainment, with group play and new game styles that embrace social play. Continued at publicgaming.com Mark Michalko, Executive Director, North Carolina Education Lottery I am sure that there are many diverse opinions as to how the world will be di erent because we are each experiencing changes brought on by the pandemic in our own way. My personal view is that on a societal level, lessons learned from the crisis will a ect – consciously or subconsciously – the way we will interact with one another. Social distancing and respect for personal space will surely continue in the foreseeable future: in o ces, in meetings, in restaurants, on planes – basically everywhere people are in close proximity with others. Also, during this crisis, we have all been learning to use technology to help us become more e cient. Like many of our friends around the world, my family has been using Webex, Zoom, and other videoconferencing technologies to conduct virtual meetings due to ‘Stay at Home’ orders, and we have also done our share of purchasing via Amazon and other delivery services. While I don’t think that these technologies will completely replace in-person activities after the pandemic subsides, they provide us with options that we probably wouldn’t have considered were it not for the crisis. Going forward we will now ask questions: Is it necessary for me to get in a car and drive? Do we really need to assemble in the same room to discuss business? Each of us will make those judgments as we move forward in a post-Covid19 world. Continuing to use some of these alternative approaches in conducting our daily business can yield many bene ts. Similarly, from a lottery-speci c perspective, we are focused on providing options for our players, including di erent ways to purchase as well as easier ways to claim prizes. Here in North Carolina, we have o ered certain draw games online for years, but in recent weeks, we have seen an increase in online purchases. While the increase in online sales has not completely o set the decrease in retail sales, it shows that players are looking for options in how they interact with the Lottery. Retail locations will always be our primary sales outlets and they will remain our valued business partners. But I hope we will see online sales continue to grow to augment retail sales in the future. Similarly, while we closed our Claims Centers to limit exposure for both players and sta , we have continued to process claims that are mailed. We have also increased both the quantity and means of providing Lottery-related information to the public. We have used a combination of traditional press releases and social media to advise about PB and MM game changes as well as changes in our claims procedures. As we emerge from the current crisis, we will evaluate which processes we might wish to continue when we return to (the new) ‘normal.’ e pandemic has forced us to do many routine tasks di erently than we did them just a few short weeks ago. Some things have gone smoothly, some a bit less so. As we evaluate the e cacy of new processes we have implemented, the question we should all consider is: Is ‘di erent’ also ‘better’? As long as we strike a balance between safety and player convenience, I am con dent that some good will come from the crisis. As I said, it’s about o ering players options to choose how they wish to interact with the Lottery, in terms of purchases, claims, and general information. I’ve been around long enough to have seen the lottery industry persevere through di cult economic times. I believe this largely stemmed from the fact that people can experience an interesting form of entertainment for a comparatively low entry price. Years ago we used to say that playing the lottery is “fun for a buck.” e premise was that even in challenging economic conditions, people were out and about and it wasn’t an economic hardship to buy a ticket (or two or three.) However, this is the rst time in my lifetime that we have seen mass quarantining around the globe. People have died. Workers have been furloughed on an unprecedented scale, and many businesses have been brought to a standstill. News reports suggest that some may not survive. So, this situation is completely di erent from a cyclical economic downturn. ere is no roadmap. ere is no history to guide us as to “what happened the last time.” While there is enormous pressure on state and national leaders to ease restrictions and move back toward business as usual, I think social distancing in retail locations as well as limitations on occupancy in bars and restaurants, and other changes borne of this crisis may last a very long time, and thus, have a longer-term economic impact than prior events. Still, I am con dent that, as an industry, Lottery will fare better than some others. ■