16 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2022 a thoughtful approach towards pursuing the success strategies that will serve society and the good causes that depend on lottery funding. More specifically, the ALA can serve that end by working with the WLA to provide an educational agenda geared towards the specific needs of our African constituents. That would include webinars and in-person conferences and seminars. Those would include at least French translation for ALA members, world class experts from outside of Africa, and the younger generation of management as well as the leadership of African operators. We need a leadership vision that is informed by the insights and wisdom of the global community of leaders and technology partners. That is how we will unlock the full potential of the African markets for the benefit of society and stakeholders in government gaming. ALA and MDJS (as the member holding the role Secretariat) are dedicated to doing whatever we can to support progress in Africa, and to build a stronger network of communication and dialogue between and among the ALA and its members, along with the international community of industry leaders. Further to that end, MDJS wants to invite everyone to work together to forge a new way forward. MDJS is working to engender a deeply collaborative relationship between the ALA, the WLA and GLMS, and other sport related organizations. How do you envision the Moroccan market evolving over the next years? Younes El Mechrafi: MDJS, just like Morocco itself, occupies a place that connects Europe and Africa, and endeavors to leverage that role to help in whatever ways we can to smooth the pathway for technological progress in Africa. First of all, there is the new business approach we have set up at MDJS. The last 10 years have seen an incredible growth of the gambling industry in Morocco, led by the sports betting market rise. Besides the organic growth of sports betting (18% per year) the Moroccan gambling market shows a lot of potential evolution factors: The evolution of online gaming: Online gaming represents only a very low share of the overall lotteries' revenue today. But the very fast digital transformation the country is facing shows that the Moroccans have a very high appetite for the digital. With the rise of new, bank less, payment methods (e-wallets, mobile payment, vouchers) the opportunities of an online gaming growth are real. The low payouts: The overall payouts in the local lotteries are still quite low compared to the worldwide benchmarks. It means that there is a big market growing potential by strategically rising those payouts and still staying in the responsible gaming standards. Addressing new targets: By developing an offer and communication more appealing to a new kind of target such as women and others social classes, with the promotion of leisure (and responsible) gaming there is a big market growing potential for the lotteries in Morocco Diversify the offer: The overall gaming offer in Morocco is quite simple compared to what is available worldwide. And the development of new games and new ways to enjoy lottery games offers a big room of growth for the market. There are plenty of things to establish in Morocco like scratch tickets, more betting options, more virtual gaming. e-sports betting etc. Second, there is the Macolin Convention. Morocco is the first African country who signed this very important international Treaty to fight match fixing and promote integrity in sport. MDJS, as observer member, cooperates with the Copenhagen group in monitoring big international sport events. Together with ALA & GLMS, MDJS will encourage other African countries to join. MDJS is strongly committed to actively participating in the different lottery fora and organizations. MDJS staff is participating in a wide range of seminars and educational programs, while I myself assume responsibilities in the Executive Committees of both the WLA and GLMS. MDJS has fulfilled the highest standards of responsible gaming and operational excellence for many years. And you hold influential positions in international associations. This would seem to represent an opportunity for leadership in the development of the ALA. Younes El Mechrafi: MDJS does aspire to leverage its historically unique role as the bridge between Africa and the international lottery community for the benefit of ALA members and the technology partners so key to our success going forward. MDJS has been in the market for 60 years. MDJS understands the nature of operational challenges and how to assess and optimize the competences and strengths of its suppliers/ providers/managers. MDJS has signed several partnership agreements with African lotteries. The objective is to create a framework for the exchange of experiences and expertise in the respective fields of activity, to work on projects of common interest and to strengthen existing relationships between the institutions, with a view to increasing the necessary funds that they collect. MDJS has accompanied some lotteries in their certification projects in the field of security and responsible gambling. Your RFP is attempting to address the concern that vendors/technology partners have long expressed about contracts that are so cost-centered and restricted that they impede innovation and inhibit investment in initiatives that are key to driving success in the future. Younes El Mechrafi: Yes, exactly. The new RFP is indeed completely different from the previous RFP’s of MDJS but also from the RFP’s launched in the past jointly with our Moroccan colleague, SGLN. The RFP has been drafted with the support of international and Moroccan experts. Also the evaluation team will be comprised “MDJS wants to work with its partners to unlock the investment and resources that enable progress and innovation.”
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