26 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 While the majority of U.S. lotteries eagerly wait for the legalization of iLottery, there are a handful of lotteries already enjoying the financial benefits of expanded options for players. These early adopters provide a roadmap for those that will come later. How can a digital platform be used to enhance the player experience and retention? How does omni-channel play help drive play at retail? Is some of the iLottery playership of the last couple years returning to retail? These, and many other issues, were expertly covered by a team of lottery veterans and iLottery pioneers. Moderated by the Virginia Lottery’s Deputy Executive Director of Lottery Rob Wesley, the panel included: Adam Barry, Corporate Development Executive, Camelot Shannon DeHaven, Vice President of Digital Engagement, Pollard Banknote Stephanie Weyant Fidler, Deputy Executive Director, Marketing & Product Development Pennsylvania Lottery Steve Hickson, Vice President Game Development, Scientific Games Rhydian Fisher, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Instant Win Gaming (IWG) Peter Sullivan, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Jackpocket Rob Wesley has worked at the lottery for more than 24 years with leadership roles in the sales, marketing, and digital departments, which now includes oversight of the fastest growing iLottery program in the country. “The road to iLottery has been quite a journey that took several years. Along the way we experienced push back from some of our large corporate retailers and retail associations who feared that retail sales would suffer,” he said. “We had European data that told us that wasn’t true. We now have data from U.S. iLottery states that clearly shows iLottery does not hurt retail sales.” Stephanie Weyant of the Pennsylvania Lottery said they had a similar experience. “We’ve been live online for four years, so we have plenty of data,” she said. “When we launched, there was Michigan, Georgia and Kentucky and now we have a larger pool of data. We’ve all proven that there is no negative impact on retail. In fact, it’s the opposite – retail growth has accelerated in states that sell online and that’s what we have experienced in Pennsylvania. We engaged the retailer groups and explained our intentions and our strategies for accomplishing the objectives to support retail sales. While they were initially skeptical, they have now seen that iLottery can help them with their business. We’ve seen revenue growth for both the lottery and retailers.” With over a decade of iLottery and digital engagement experience, Shannon DeHaven offers a wealth of experience on both sides of the effort. “iLottery has been available for eight years in Michigan and Fiscal Year 2021 is the Michigan Lottery’s eighth consecutive year of double digit growth at retail,” she said. “Lottery was growing in Michigan prior to iLottery and the retail growth continued, so the argument that iLottery will hurt traditional retail is completely wrong. It can get tiring, but we have to keep telling this story to as many groups as possible. Build the trust with the retailers and let them know we care about their business.” Adam Barry brings an international perspective to the discussion, having worked at UK-based Camelot and now Australiabased JUMBO Interactive. “In the U.K., the lottery has shown that you can grow iLottery and attract more retailers at the same time,” he said. “Same in Australia, and the country actually has multiple digital channels. The channel that JUMBO operates has seen 40% growth year-overyear through effectively applied marketing strategies. So it’s not just about going online. It’s also what you do with the tools and the experience you offer to your players as well.” Focus on eInstants While digital lottery can mean something different depending on the lottery, including number generators, players clubs and freeto-play games, the primary driver of revenue from an iLottery program is eInstants. Rob said since this represents the majority of sales and profits from online sales, , they are focused on effectively innovating, growing, and managing the portfolio. Just like traditional scratch products, we work hard to ensure we look not only at individual games, but how they fit into the overall portfolio strategy, and meet the expectations of our current and future players. These expectations include the experience players have when engaging with our eInstant games. A key component in creating an interactive digital game experience is payout, and understanding how that decision impacts the player experience, and will ultimately attract and retain customers, he added. “But we must answer the questions that naturally arise. Won’t a higher payout result in lower profits? Does a higher payout for eInstants impact retail sales? Very important questions that we must answer. For some of these answers, Rob turned to Rhydian Fisher of IWG, who has spent the past two decades creating some of the most popular eInstant games in the industry. “It’s very tempting when you launch an iLottery program to replicate your existing experiences from retail and try and attract EARLY ADOPTERS SHOW PATH TO DIGITAL SUCCESS P A N E L D I S C U S S I O N E X E CU T I V E SUMMARY O F PANE L D I SCUS S I ON F ROM PGR I L OT T E RY E XPO 2 0 2 2 NYC CON F E R ENC E
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