Public Gaming Magazine Sept/Oct 2021

29 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 PGRI INTERVIEWS Paul Jason: There are currently 11 or 12 U.S. jurisdictions which have iLottery. Can you describe the status of states that appear to be on the brink of regulating iLottery, states like Connecticut and Massachusetts, and others that PGRI may not know about? Scott Gunn: There are two states close to offering iLottery – Arizona and Connecticut. Both of these states legalized iLottery in 2021 by virtue of their governors negotiating amended tribal gaming compacts – these compacts were amended primarily to allow the tribes to offer sports betting. Essentially, the Arizona and Connecticut tribes gained the ability to offer sports betting in exchange for allowing the state to offer iLottery products, among other things. When it comes to iLottery though, the question most often asked is did COVID-19 accelerate the legalization of iLottery? The jury is still out on that as only 10 states and D.C. currently offer iLottery and just two states legalized it in 2021. But looking at the overall landscape demonstrates that there is an evolution occurring right now in the digital lottery and gaming space. Sports betting – more specifi- cally, mobile sports betting – is helping to pave the way for both iLottery and iGaming. My experience has been that state legislatures have not viewed sports betting, and in most cases Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) before that, through the same high gaming- expansion lens as they do other traditional gaming- expansion issues. They viewed sports betting, office pools, and DFS betting as an activity that enjoyed widespread acceptance with their constituents – “everybody does it!” This has allowed sports betting, and more specifically, mobile sports betting, to become the prover- bial camel’s nose under the tent, with regard to mobile betting in general. The critical issue over the next few years will be whether policy makers allow this first-mover mobile advantage to benefit all gaming entities, including lotteries, or if the mobile gaming product expansion will, in most states, extend through the mobile sports betting ecosystem. What states do you think might be closest to moving into the stage of actively exploring the regulatory options for iLottery and getting bills approved for iLottery within the next 12 months? How about two years? S. Gunn: I know most lotteries and lottery leadership are enthusiastic about digital evolution, including iLottery. The challenge is finding a path to authorization, which can be administrative, legislative, and in some cases constitutional. In 2021, there were almost a dozen states that introduced legisla- tion for iLottery, and while legislation may still be pending in a few states, there is little expectation that legislation will be approved in the remaining months of 2021. As policy makers and regulators become more and more comfortable with the concept of digital gaming/lottery offerings and see mobile sports betting becoming a viable option in the portfolio to help generate tax revenue, you will see more states embracing iLottery. Sports betting has ramped up quickly – since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2018, there are now more than 30 states where single bet games have been legalized. In the vast majority of those states (ap- proximately 22), we are seeing states allow for both retail and online sports betting, and this is changing the overall policy and regulatory environment. FACTORS SHAPING REGULATORY POLICY IN THE DIGITAL AGE Scott Gunn Senior Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs, IGT As policy makers and regulators become more comfortable with the concept of digital gaming/lottery offerings and see mobile sports betting as a viable option in the portfolio to help generate tax revenue, you will see more states embracing iLottery. Continued on page 34