8 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 From the Publisher Congratulations to Andreas Kötter, CEO of WestLotto, Germany for his recent election to President of the World Lottery Association! The World Lottery Summit Paris (October 21 to 25) was the most excellent adventure it was cracked up to be: the biggest WLS ever, held in the most splendid City of Lights, featuring worldclass speakers from within and outside of the lottery industry, hosting the fabulous trade-show of technology partners, with countless side-bar meetings of global lottery leaders. And kudos to La Française des Jeux (FDJ) for hosting this event. We all knew the French would set the highest standards for all social functions and business venues, and they sure did deliver. Visit world-lotteries.org for complete info on the bi-annual WLS (to be held in Sydney Australia in 2026), as well as the other seminars and services offered by the World Lottery Association. We’ve allocated a lot of pages in this issue to the unique story of how the New Mexico Lottery won the NASPL Best New Instant Game of the Year Award for the third year in a row. This tremendous accomplishment was driven not by advertising agencies, but by the NM Lottery’s own small in-house team of resourceful, creating, and talented lottery pros. Check it out as it would seem to reveal a treasure trove of untapped value right under our own roof. Feature interview NM Lottery Director David Barden also provides the glimpse into how it all came together. The EL (European Lotteries Association) continues to carve out a more expansive mission for lotteries. Service to society can mean more than generating funds for good causes by providing recreational games in a responsible manner. Corporate and governmental enterprises occupy centerstage for their capacity to effect positive change on a wide range of goals to secure a healthy and prosperous future for everyone. Our world needs visionary leadership now more than ever. EL is challenging all of us to think bigger and apply our resources, ingenuity, and action to sustain the world for the many generations that follow us. Feature interview EL President Romana Girandon clarifies how this grand vision of service to society complements our mandate to serve our jurisdictional stakeholders and players. Let’s embrace this more ambitious vision for the benefit not just of society but to meet the needs of the next generation of industry leaders for meaning and purpose in their quest to make a real difference. Congratulations to the Illinois Lottery for its 50th anniversary! What a happy coincidence it is that Harold Mays serves not only as the director of the Illinois Lottery but also the president of NASPL. This promises to be a very busy year for Director Mays and a productive year for the IL Lottery and NASPL members. Thank you to our most valued editorial partners! Scientific Games, IGT, and Pollard Banknote generously share their research, data, and vision for how the industry is evolving and what Team Lottery can do to position itself for success going forward. Technology partners and industry leaders INTRALOT, Aristocrat Interactive, GLI, Abacus Lottery Everywhere, MDJS Morrocco, Carmanah Signs, Inspired Entertainment, Pro-Lite, Fennica Gaming, IWG are so valued for the technology, business-process solutions, and operational leadership that make this industry the fabulous success that it is. Thank you to all of you for sharing your vision with our readers! Simon Jaworski is our regular contributor who we like to think of as our own in-house lottery research guru. Thank you for sharing your insights and data with us, Simon! Next up: For the past twenty years, tens of thousands of gaming industry professionals have convened in London for the ICE Gaming Show. The WLA and EL lottery associations collaborate to hold its Marketing Seminar during that same week. It feels like the event that brings us all together to kick off the new year. And this year the venue for these events has been changed to Barcelona. The WLA/ EL Marketing Seminar will be held Jan. 22-24. Visit european-lotteries.org for more info. See you in Barcelona! Mark your calendars for PGRI SmartTech Conference in Fort Lauderdale March 4-6. I promise this will be our biggest and best event ever. See PublicGaming.org for more information, links to register and reserve hotel room, and ongoing updates. Feel free to reach out directly to me with questions or anything. And, as always, thank you for your friendship and support! Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine
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