Public Gaming International November/December 2021

8 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 From the Publisher Wow. Who’d a thunk that we would still be struggling with the pandemic after all this time? Thankfully, we were able to follow through with our in-person conference in Nashville the end of October. Lottery Expo was a big success – biggest attendance ever and fabulous presentations, panel discussions, and social functions. There was a wonderful feeling of optimism about the future and enthusiasm for being able to actually see each other again. Many of the videos are posted to PGRItalks.com. Executive summaries of the high-points will be published in the next issue of the magazine. Thank you all so much for coming to celebrate the joy and privilege of being a part of this great industry! Next up is Smart-Tech Miami on March 1, 2, and 3. The conference hotel venue will have been announced by the time you are reading this. Please visit PublicGaming. org, our conference website, for more information and updates on Smart-Tech Miami. You can also access all of our digital products by way of our main news website PublicGaming.com. It seems like we have been talking about and planning for the “post-pandemic” era of Lottery for more than a year now, and we’re anxious for it to arrive. As we learned from the presentations and panel discussions of Lottery Expo Nashville, and from industry publications, and from our own experience and observation, lottery industry leaders are not waiting to implement ambitious business plans and initiatives that have consolidated Lottery’s position as the most popular game that has ever existed. (I just googled that “most popular” statement and see that “Heads or Tails” comes in first, Dice comes in second, and Powerball comes in third. So I figure if we added all the other lottery games together with Powerball, then Lottery Games would come in first.) It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” — Leon C. Megginson This quote is widely attributed to Charles Darwin, but Darwin did not actually say that. The basic idea was central to The Origin of the Species, but it was a management consultant who, in 1963, paraphrased Darwin’s thesis into the form that is now probably applied as much in the science of business management as to biological evolution. I am struck by Megginson’s (Professor of Management and Marketing at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge) explanation of what it means to be “adaptable”. It’s not about the bold transformational change that is heralded by the masters of the universe inventors of the next big thing. I find Megginson’s basic principles for strategic adaptation to accurately reflect the values of the leadership of the lottery industry, and to be decidedly different from the bombastic “move-fast-and-break-things” culture of Silicon Valley or whatever the current hot-spot of technological innovation happens to be. Megginson: “To best prepare for the trials of tomorrow we -- the leaders of change -- choose to align around shared values that transcend businesses, boundaries and borders. These values include: • People and culture over tools and technology • Always-on adaptation over one-time change • Evolutionary change over revolutionary disruption • Flexibility over firm plans and structures • Strategic action over endless analysis • Collaboration and inclusion over competition and exclusion • Curiosity over certainty This more mature approach to change and adaptation aligns with the complex environment within which government- lotteries operate. A diversity of stakeholders (the good causes supported by Lottery, but also political constituents, media, retailers, consumers, etc.) value prudence as much as boldness. Just as importantly, it is simply smart business strategy for the dominant incumbent to protect its position rather than take the high-risk/high-return approach that may work well for start-ups with little to lose. Lottery is a $200+ billion-dollar-business globally, and $100+ billion-dollar-business in the U.S. alone. That is a lot to lose and therefore a lot to protect. Champions of radical disruption trot out examples like Kodak and Blockbuster Video to support their admonition to “innovate or die”. The experience of the last eighteen months Lottery has revealed Lottery to be the embodiment of the above adaptability values cited by Megginson, and the vision of how to drive “evolutionary change” that stays consonant with the market-place, with mega-trends, and with our customers. Our leaders look at the ways in which our players want to connect with us, and pursue those pathways to achieve that within the constraints of our regulatory statutes, responsible gaming standards, and our business model. The approach values sustainability and stability while modernizing to meet and exceed the expectations of our players and retail channel partners. As I write this on the morning of Thanksgiving, and I am thinking about all that we have to be so grateful for, I think it is a good time to extend a hearty thank-you to the leadership of this industry for your thoughtful yet visionary guidance through these difficult times. And a thank-you and congratulations to all of you who are dedicated to serving the good causes supported by the government-gaming industry. Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine