Public Gaming Magazine Sept/Oct 2021

56 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 and diverse portfolio of promotional and engagement initiatives that optimizes short- term ROI does also include initiatives that engage the players on digital channels. And that is no less true for non-iLottery states as it is for iLottery states. You know, digital can be thought of as the next stage in a natural evolution. First there was the product-centric era of Henry Ford when consumers were simply delighted to have the modern conveniences. Next was the retail-centric era of Walmart and big brands wherein the value was being placed on easy and cheap access to the products. We have now been in the consumer-centric era of Mobile and Digital for some years now. The start of this era is pegged to the launch of the iPhone in 2007. That intro- duced a whole new way of connecting and interacting with the world and with each other as well as getting information and shopping. Steve Jobs also introduced us to a new way of thinking about the consumer, of immersing oneself in the consumer experience to understand their feelings and motivations even better than they under- stand themselves. Digital is not just a new channel - it is the platform which obsoletes the whole concept of channels as it puts the singular focus directly on the consumer experience. Insofar as we can create that de- channelized environment of easy ubiquitous access that the consumer expects, the focus tracks more to the promotions, messaging, and the games themselves. This is good for Team Lottery as people love the games and there is no shortage of innovation being applied to produce fresh new play-styles that will excite the next generation of players. Another way to think of it is that digital functions as much as a medium for com- munication as a channel for distribution. The value of digital is that it puts lottery in the middle of the conversation that is unfolding on a 24/7 basis. Think about it – less than 10% of grocery sales are online. But grocery stores need to establish the online connection with the consumer, even if it is purely as a medium for communica- tion. The headroom we have for ongoing digital innovation to enhance the overall player experience is immense. I was surprised at the percentage of registered players who play more at retail than online. J. Westbury: We have definitely found it to be the case in Michigan where they have approximately 1.3 million registrations and 60% of them are retail players. The Michigan Lottery is engaging registered players with second chance draws, apps that make it easier to buy retail tickets, and promotions and couponing that incent the player to engage at retail as well as online. The evidence shows that registered players will continue to play at retail. And lotteries will continue to create an environment, a player ecosystem, that rewards play and engagement across that ecosystem. The consumer who engages on multiple touch-points is a more loyal and satisfied consumer. That’s true for all consumer sectors, not just lotteries and games-of- chance. Let’s chat about the Virginia Lottery. What drove the warp-speed launch and leap to cruising speed of its iLottery program? J. Westbury: The Virginia Lottery rec- ognized quite some time ago the need to position itself for a future based on digital, and they began years prior to the launch of iLottery to do everything they could to build out that digital foundation. They could not sell lottery tickets online in the conventional way, but they could implement a subscription program that introduced the players to the benefits of registering online to enjoy the benefits of an interactive relationship. To accomplish this, they installed an iLottery platform to support all the functionality of a digitally interactive relationship, lacking only the ability to actually buy lottery tickets online. NPi has operated that for them since 2016. At the same time, they built web and mobile apps and game plays that were exten- sions of retail instant tickets. They moved from enabling games played on a computer web app to implementing a full-on mobile app that was available in the iOS and Google stores for their Crossword games. And they were progressive in developing the “digital mentality” to orient their organization into a forward-thinking mode in everything they do. When the Virginia legislature authorized iLottery in mid-2020, the Lottery and its players were ready to leap right into the transaction-enabled piece of the program. Explain more about the “digital mentality”. J. Westbury: It has two fronts – internal within the organization, and external with the players. Product development, operations, customer service, and all business activities are based on the commitment to digital, not just as an IT platform but as a way of thinking, a way of applying creativity to invent our own future. We should be thinking about the Lottery’s business as a wholly digital environment, with everyone thinking and working within the digital mind-set that embraces the opportunity to change and evolve as quickly as possible with the emergence of new tools and business processes that make life better. To a larger degree than ever before, the consumer is already there, already adopting the digital mentality. We are already familiar with the external piece of the digital mentality. Business has always endeavored to apply technology to enhance the consumer experience. Well, the goal now is to apply the digital mentality, along with the technological infrastructure, to align with the audience, the modern consumer. Further to that, the goal is to become a leader instead of a follower, to be leading the digital transformation, en- couraging the players to think and interact digitally, to walk hand-in-hand with our players along the pathway towards a future so rich with potential and fresh new ways of experiencing the lottery. Virginia is a recent example of an effective iLottery launch, but we should also recognize Michigan for its vision at a time when they were pioneers in North America. They started with digital games like Keno-To- Go which displayed the results on your mobile phone. They focused on building their loyalty player base so that when they went live, they already had a database of 600,000 players who were registered with the Michigan Lottery. This allowed them to start marketing to these players right away and who already had a digital relationship with the lottery, and that was back in 2014. Now we have the benefit of other successful iLottery programs like New Hampshire and Change Starts Small and Innovation is Continuous continued from page 27 The evidence shows that registered players will continue to play at retail. And lotteries will continue to create an environment, a player ecosystem, that rewards play and engagement across that ecosystem.