Public Gaming International May/June 2020

44 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2020 LOTTERY INDUSTRY LEADERS SHARE THE VISION Barry Pack, Executive Director, Oregon Lottery e impact of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, on lottery sales across the country has been dramatic. While every jurisdiction is facing its own unique set of challenges, the Oregon Lottery saw catastrophic drops in revenue overnight mid-March. On March 17th, Oregon Governor Kate Brown issued her “Stay Home, Save Lives” executive order, which, among other measures, e ectively shuttered bars, restaurants and taverns across the state, including nearly 2,000 Video Lottery Retailers. Video Lottery historically makes up about 72% of our annual revenues and 90% of the dollars we transfer for the programs that rely on Lottery sales for their funding. We lost that revenue stream overnight and implemented tough measures to preserve cash as we weather this pandemic, including signi cant furloughs, lay-o s and salary reductions. Every employee has been impacted. ese are the toughest days the Oregon Lottery has ever faced, and they are just a taste of the decisions the rest of the state government will have to make as Oregon faces the worst recession since the Great Depression. But there is a bright spot on the horizon. Governor Brown laid out a framework for a phased re-opening of certain employment sectors, including restaurants with Video Lottery, if certain public health and operational criteria were met. On May 15th, after nearly two months of closure, 31 of Oregon’s 36 counties were approved to reopen their economies under “Phase 1” guidance. For the Oregon Lottery, that meant re-enabling play on over 3,000 terminals – physically distanced 6 feet apart. A week later, three more counties reopened, leaving only the Portland metropolitan area still shut down. Continued at publicgaming.com Brian Rockey, Director, Nebraska Lottery and Charitable Gaming Division Adapting to the post-COVID-19 World Aside from the new ways to sell tickets that might arise from our pandemic experiences, I think the industry may have new ways of thinking of its relationship with retailer and player customers. While hours of operation and store tra c patterns have been altered, the level of consumer demand for lottery tickets may reinforce for retailers the merits of featuring games, and not just carrying them. For some Instant products, the entertainment value may be even more evident than before as customers with extra time on their hands look for games to play. Perhaps game design, merchandising and marketing of those products could take on new characteristics. Pickup and delivery of remote orders help many businesses stay relevant during pandemic restrictions, and it may be that such services remain as more than just conveniences for customers after restrictions are eased. e inclusion of lottery products in such o erings (particularly when draw schedules are involved) could help add a dimension to that evolving form of customer service. Analysis of sales and tra c data during the pandemic can help lotteries and their retail partners identify best practices and create opportunities to deliver useful and compelling information to policymakers. In addition to the public health aspects of the pandemic (sanitation, distancing, testing, monitoring, etc.) the “new normal” will include looking at di erent methods of doing business, not necessarily replacing traditional methods but supplementing them. ■ . Cindy Polzin, Director, Wisconsin Lottery at is the question on all American's minds! I believe normal will be rede ned. We are all becoming more technology savvy working at home and those skills might drive consumer behavior in the future. e Lottery will need to get there faster. Lotteries like Wisconsin need to be cashless. We have made several attempts at this in the past but in the post-coronavirus world we hope to be successful. Additionally, we need to get into the electronic games world. Wisconsin's scratch games are holding their own. We have seen a signi cant decrease in Lotto sales. We are watching sales and trends closely in order to project next year's sales. People may continue to seek at-home entertainment. Scratch tickets may be part of that equation. Sales of Wisconsin Lottery Scratch Games were up 29.1% in April 2020 compared to April 2019 ($52,627,006). is year, FY20 YTD prior to April, average monthly scratch sales were $38,309,660. April 2020 was 37% higher than that. With other avenues for entertainment closed, demand for scratch tickets has been high since mid-March. Since Lottery is sold in two of the retail channels that remained open throughout the pandemic, c-stores and grocery stores, our products remained in front of customers. Furthermore, Lottery players likely see scratch tickets as an entertainment option and a little break from the day that they can safely enjoy at home. While it is di cult to speculate on what the future holds, we hope that we can retain many of the new players who have discovered Wisconsin Lottery games recently. Continued at publicgaming.com