Public Gaming International November/December 2021

22 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 W ould you be surprised to hear that 83% of Americans use their mobile phone as an alarm clock? According to a recent study by Reviews.org, the phone is literally the first item most of the nation reaches for in the morning. Knowing that, it’s easy to envision all the other ways we’ve become reliant on mobile technology. We use our phones not only to wake up but to watch our favorite shows, order food, and purchase items online and at retail. To speed up the purchase transaction at my local coffee shop, I simply tap to pay, and to make things even easier for me, the reward points are automatically applied to my account. Mobile has become so powerful that many of us use it for virtually everything. Now that things are opening up after Covid, consumers want to go back to retail. Many are still a little apprehensive, but they are accessing the contactless payment options that are now widely available. Lottery players are no different. They are looking to lottery operators to give them the same kind of cashless and contactless options they experience elsewhere in their retail journeys. IGT has responded to this need with an eWallet app feature that gives players the option to fund their eWallet from multiple payment providers or top-up funds at a retail store. They can also set deposit and transaction limits to purchase responsibly. Using the eWallet to make contactless lottery purchases modernizes the purchase flow, just like using mobile devices to make any other retail payment. What’s more, it’s not an internet transaction, so any lottery can implement the feature, whether regulated to offer internet wagering or not. This is the next step lotteries can take to enhance their player journeys. A Favorite Alarm Clock Rings Out New Opportunities for Lottery IGT’s Srini Nedunuri, Vice President PlayLottery, shares his view on digitizing the lottery player experience.