23 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2024 THE FUTURE OF ILOTTERY: PREDICTIONS FOR 2030 As we approach 2030, the iLottery industry stands at a crossroads. Once viewed as a niche market, U.S. iLottery has reached a 2023 turnover of $8 billion and a projected $10.8 billion in 2024 (according to US State Lotteries & Eilers and Krejcik Gaming LLC), presenting both new opportunities and challenges for the industry. According to NeoGames CEO and iLottery, iGaming and Sports Betting expert, Moti Malul, we must ask ourselves “How will trends in the market affect the size of the industry ten years from now, based on the collective actions we take today?” Ten years from now, lottery turnover could increase by 20-50%, depending on how slowly or urgently we act, but could also lose as much as $30 billion to competing industries such as sports betting, retail, and iGaming, (all with significantly larger marketing budgets). To capitalize on iLottery’s impressive growth potential, the industry must act with urgency, focusing on GGR (Gross game Revenue) and owning the end-to-end player journey for both retail and online channels. Today, American iLottery is authorized in 14 U.S. states (plus Washington D.C., for a total of 15 jurisdictions), with 85% of the revenue coming from eInstants, and 15% coming from DBGs (draw based games). Virginia, New Hampshire and Michigan are currently leading the U.S. iLottery industry in terms of per capita sales, with North Carolina expected to join the list of top performers by 2025, if not sooner. While the U.S. iLottery industry and its player base is certainly unique, we have much in common with these competing industries, who are all marketing to our player base via their own social and marketing channels. Our iLottery market share is further threatened by potential competitors who wish to cross sell iLottery to our own players. Potential competitors will include iGaming operators who offer einstant games via their portal or courier services for lottery scratch-off tickets, and sports betting platforms who also sell (i) lottery products. The appetite for iLottery is evident, with the Virginia lottery—the leading per capita U.S. iLottery per capita jurisdiction—currently seeing more than 55% of sales from online, with GGR expected to approach $400 million in 2024. Where there's a will, there's a way, and so, if we don't meet our players' desire for online lottery play, our competitors certainly will. A prime example of this is DraftKings’ recent acquisition of Jackpocket, who are now seamlessly embedding Powerball and Mega Million sales into their website (without cutting a Continued on page 41 Moti Malul, CEO, NeoGames
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