Public Gaming November/December 2020

15 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 Continued on page 44 and ask for advice. ere’s very little that happens with our lotteries that hasn’t taken place in another jurisdiction, so getting another director’s take on a situation is helpful. We’re better as an industry when we all work together and help each other out.” Gordon Medenica, Director of the Maryland Lottery, identi es the ubiquity of lottery products and their impact on people as two important strengths. “Humans have a fundamental need to dream, to believe there is something better for them in the future,” Gordon said. “ at is one thing we provide, and we sell it in so many di erent ways. Another strength is the number and variety of di erent games and distribution methods. We meet the needs of the widest spectrum of consumer pro les and di erent needs. “As an industry, we’re good at determining which products are best for which audience and what is the optimal time for distribution. And we’re able to show incremental growth year after year. It’s a strength and something we should be proud of.” As Executive Director of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), Bret Toyne works with ALL states, so his view of the industry’s strengths is much more national. “We have a terri c variety of organizations, whether it’s the Mega Millions Consortium, MUSL, NASPL, and then of course our business partners,” he said. “And then we have a great diversity of leadership, people from di erent backgrounds who bring di erent perspectives to our groups. While at times it can be challenging as everyone has di erent stressors on them, I de nitely see this as a strength.” But drilling down on the word “challeng- ing,” making the multi-state organizations operate e ciently can also distract lottery directors from their core duties. Perhaps not exactly the traditional de nition of “weakness” but an issue nonetheless. “ ere’s a number of issues on which most directors agree but at some point, we hit issues that are very di erent from lottery to lottery,” said Drew Svitko, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Lottery. “ at’s where some of our more di cult discussions begin. It also takes a long time to move along projects in our industry so that can also be a challenge, especially with lotteries that have director changes. “If there is one area of agreement it’s that we need to aggressively manage and update our products moving forward. We can’t let our products falter to the point where they are no longer relevant. Most of us agree with that but getting us to that point of agreement and action can take some time.” e improvements for multi-state games brought the panelists to the “O” – Op- portunities. For one of those opportunities, the lottery directors are looking overseas to international sales of Powerball. As President of the World Lottery Association, Rebecca is keenly aware of the opportunities for brand expansion and raising revenue from new markets. “ is has been a labor of love, with the focus on labor, for the working group that studied the international expansion of Powerball,” said Rebecca. “What initially started as a discussion on how to stop the illegal sale of our game has now grown into an initiative to sell beyond our borders. Of course, the best way to stop or at least curtail illegal sales is to give the consumer a safe and legal option to play. We’ll start with the ve Australian states and run a market test in April with Tabcorp. After that, we hope we can take the pilot to UK. On the opportu- nity front, this has great potential for the Powerball brand and our ability to increase revenue.” For Mega Millions, the opportunity lies with improving the game from within. e group that oversees that game, led by Gordon, is not looking to sell abroad. But many states are now o ering Cash4Life, which is available every day. Gretchen said that all of these opportunities, no matter how di cult to implement, need to be designed with one result in mind – driving revenue. After all, that is the mission of all lotteries. “Whether we are a large group like MUSL or a smaller group like Mega Millions, we exist to make money for our bene ciaries in the most responsible manner possible,” she said. “I respect that all of us must consider what is right for our states. We also need to consider the players and what they want. All our deliberating will be a waste if the nal decision doesn’t work for players. Gretchen said that all of these opportuni- ties, no matter how di cult to implement, need to be designed with one result in mind – drive revenue. After all, that is the mission of all lotteries. “Whether we are a large group like MUSL or a smaller group like Mega Millions, we exist to make money for our bene ciaries in the most responsible manner possible,” she said. “I respect that all of us must consider what is right for our states. We also need to consider the players and what they want. All our deliberating will be a waste if the nal decision doesn’t work for players. “We have such great stewards in the industry, people like Gordon and Rebecca who have great ex- perience and share it freely with others. We all want and need the multi-state games to succeed, and everyone is working on how to bring in that next generation of player. If we don’t gure that out, the games are in trouble. And that is a major threat.” May concurred. “ is is a weakness, opportunity and threat all rolled together. Our player base is older. If we don’t add younger players our games will be in big trouble. ese are the topics we have to hit next as a group as they address the future of our games and our lotteries.” Taking a page out of the instant ticket playbook, Drew said he wants to also look at the opportunity to push the price point of Powerball and Mega Millions. He sees this as an important opportunity. “ is might be the perfect time to launch that price point,” he said. “We know from our research that players are ne with a $5 price point. Can we take one game to seven days a week and other game to $5? ose are some big moves but now is the time to consider the future of these games. One of our strengths is communications, so let’s use it to address the sales issues of our games and look to increase the revenue of both games, which represents a big opportunity.” is is where Rebecca thinks international sales could play a roll, serving as a laboratory of sorts where ideas can be tested before being implemented in the U.S. "If there is one area of agreement it’s that we need to aggressively manage and update our products moving forward."