8 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 From the Publisher The sure sign that we are returning to normalcy is a busy fall schedule of conferences to participate in. We held our PGRI Lottery Expo NYC a little earlier than usual to allow some time to lapse between us and the lottery industry biggest event. I hope you are all coming to Vancouver to attend the World Lottery Summit. The production is a team effort between the World Lottery Association (WLA), the host lottery (BCLC, British Columbia Lottery Corp) and the regional association, NASPL (North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries). Go to worldlotterysummit. org to view the program, the bio’s of the keynote speakers, the breakout “plenary” sessions, and to register and reserve hotel rooms. Normally, we need to wait two years to convene with our colleagues from all across the globe, as this event is held only every other year. But it has now been four years since the last WLS, which was held in Buenos Aires. A lot has changed since then. There is at least one person who has continued to travel the world, speaking at other WLA regional events, meeting with the international community of lottery leaders, and learning from everyone every step of the way. As president of the WLA, and my best friend, Rebecca Paul is very excited to visit with you and share your reality as she pursues a deeper understanding for how our industry functions and serves its stakeholders, and society writ large. We bring you a very special feature in this issue – not just an interview but a retrospective on what has got to be the most storied career this industry has ever seen. Thirty-seven years of service and leadership experience informs a perspective that at its heart remains hungry for more knowledge, more understanding, and more opportunity to help all of us achieve our goals. Our industry serves good causes, society, and a broader set of stakeholders. And so our interview delves into the way our industry is evolving, and how we might accelerate our progress down the path of continuous improvement during this time of extreme disruption. Rebecca’s focus, though, has always been on people and supporting everyone’s personal success. To that end, she co-created (with my father-in-law Duane Burke) the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame. David Barden and Drew Svitko were inducted into the Hall of Fame at PGRI’s Lottery Expo NYC conference on August 31. Romana Girandon and Luca Esposito will be inducted at the World Lottery Summit Vancouver at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, October 18. You are all invited to join us in honoring the class of 2022 Hall of Famers, and to then walk across the hall to enjoy the reception of WiLL (Women in Lottery Leadership) supporters. See the bio’s of David, Drew, Romana, and Luca on page 10 of this issue. Read about the Lottery Hall of Fame in the “Awards” department of PublicGaming.com. Our news website also includes a section on WiLL. Our NYC conference kicked off with a panel discussion led by Gretchen Corbin (CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corp.) on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Lotteries have built an ambitious array of digital initiatives over the last twenty years. Gretchen’s panel explored the ways in which those initiatives are being integrated and harmonized to add real value to lotteries’ products and services. CRM moves the focus away from the technology over to the player. After all, the customer doesn’t think about the technology, or channels, media, and platforms. Jim Acton edits many of the great features in PGRI Magazine, including this month’s executive summaries of PGRI conference panel discussions (Gretchen’s CRM and Rob Wesley’s iLottery panels in this issue) and writes additional features like the one that explores the CRM strategies and initiatives being implemented in lotteries across the U.S. – Thank you Jim. Thank you to our regular editorial contributors Philippe Vlaemminck and Mark Hichar for helping us understand the legal, political, and regulatory environment that has such a profound impact on the success of government lotteries. Philippe does a deep dive into the ways in which the modern RFP can be designed to drive better collaboration and alignment between technology partners, lottery operators, and the objectives they are working to achieve. Mark calls out the failure to effectively prevent the operations of illegal online gambling websites. He explains how and why there is no reason why existing laws can’t be enforced to hold all operators to the highest standards of accountability – and why it is vital that we do so to protect the interests of the players, of good causes and lottery stakeholders, and of society which is the owner of the government lottery. Wonder whether the young adult will continue to migrate over to lottery as they get older and their lifestyle changes? Or if the mass adoption of videogames and other social phenomena might disrupt that traditional customer journey? Regular contributor Simon Jaworski shares some research into this mission-critical question. And a special thanks to all of our editorial contributors and advertisers! I appreciate our partnership, the leadership you provide this industry, and the brain-trust you share with our readership. See you in Vancouver! Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine
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