44 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 Driving the Omni-Channel Experience: — continued from page 24 games-of-chance products are sold and/or regulated by the Delaware Lottery. We’re the regulator and we sell the products. But competition from the surrounding states means that we still have to pay attention to omnichannel competition. Even though we manage the entire gaming industry in Delaware, we need to keep up with the competition from outside our jurisdiction.” Focusing just on lottery products, Shannon DeHaven, argued that omnichannel is about “consistency and seamlessness. For example, you might have Powerball online and Powerball at retail, but that isn’t really omnichannel unless the exact same features are available at both. If it’s going to be omnichannel you have to offer a seamless experience with the same product no matter how a player chooses to play. And that’s why, when we talk about omnichannel, it’s essential to also talk about how you leverage the technology that underpins the consistent and seamless player experiences.” However, Shannon also acknowledged that “there are certain categories, such as instants, where the same product is not going to work on both channels. There are different audiences. But we need to make sure that each audience has the options and the opportunities that they’re looking for.” Picking up on that point, Mark highlighted the differences between multichannel and omnichannel approaches. “Multichannel implies an operator-driven approach to maximize outreach at various distribution channels. Whereas omnichannel is about looking at everything from the player’s perspective. But, coming back to Shannon’s point, how do we connect the experience of playing games into a true omnichannel experience for the player regardless of whether they play online or in-store?” For Shannon, the key issue was having a data platform that allows you to understand “what’s resonating with players online and what’s resonating with players at retail. And you also have to identify those players who want to play at both because that creates opportunities for cross-promotion.” Agreeing about the importance of data and technology, Richard said, “If you’re trying to forcibly connect with a consumer via a channel or location they don’t want, then they’re not going to be as receptive to it. So, we’ve got to make ourselves available anytime, anywhere, so that players can access games wherever is most convenient for them.” Building on that, Randy stressed the importance of using data to understand customers’ likes and dislikes. “Consumers expect to be listened to and modern technology is making it easier for companies to know their customers. So, if we don’t start moving toward a complete, omnichannel understanding of how our players like to engage with us, then we have the potential to turn them off. We don’t want to put offers to play scratch-off games in front of people who don’t like them.” Responding to Mark’s question about how vendors can accelerate lotteries’ progress toward an omnichannel relationship with players, Lorne argued that lotteries need to emulate the openness of the rest of the gaming industry. “At Inspired Entertainment, we focus 100% on content creation. Our customers have 20 suppliers, and anybody with a great product can have that on MGM, Caesar’s, DraftKings, FanDuel, or wherever. But that openness doesn’t exist in the lottery industry. And I think omnichannel is really a pipedream until the most important platform suppliers take down the barriers and make it as easy as possible for content suppliers to get their products into the distribution channels.” Richard also emphasized the importance of integration. “Technology needs to support our business plans and strategies, and the way to do that is to have a fully interoperable system that can plug in microservices apps, game content, widgets, whatever you need to have in there. With interoperability, you can bring in whatever solutions are right for your customers. The system enables integration and gives you the openness to work with whoever is going to best meet your customers’ needs.” From Shannon’s perspective, the issue was not just about content. “As suppliers or business partners, we need to bring forth solutions that are highly adaptable at a much faster pace. And we need to bear in mind that any solution has multiple integrations. Sometimes, you’ve got to swap one out because something better comes along but you don’t want to swap the entire system out. We also need lotteries to open up and discuss with us the challenges they are facing because it’s only when we understand those challenges that we can be part of the solution.” Echoing Shannon’s point about the pace of change, Randy made the case for contracts that commit vendors to keep up with relevant technological developments over the entire term of the contract. “The world moves so fast that we can’t just wait till the next contract period to address the needs of the customer. We’ve just launched digital instants, and it’s already clear that we need to adapt and leverage new tools as soon as they become available, not at the end of a seven or ten-year contract. And we need to speak to our vendors to write that commitment to update and adapt into our contracts.” Randy also identified a specific issue about implementing omnichannel in retail “How do we connect the experience of playing games into a true omnichannel experience for the player regardless of whether they play online or in-store?” the technological priority when moving toward omnichannel should be simply to maximize the content opportunities available to players across those channels.”
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