45 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 environments. “Another challenge is we don’t control retail. The best omnichannel companies more than likely control their retail settings. So, we don’t just need conversations with our vendors, we need to engage our retail partners too. There’s more we can do to accelerate the omnichannel expansion by working directly with them.” Helene explained how Delaware faced specific challenges because of its size. “Delaware is a tiny state, and we have to be prepared to stand up for ourselves to get the same products from vendors that the much bigger states neighboring us are getting. Also, because we don’t have a lot of staff, it’s challenging for us to keep up with the pace of change. But we’re motivated to meet those challenges, and we’ll keep working with our partners to make sure that we do.” Randy also emphasized the need to change the lottery culture to accelerate the shift to omnichannel. “Lotteries are really good at launching and selling new games. However, we tend to do it within our little silos of traditional methods and departmentalized operations. But for omnichannel we have to drive departmental integration across the organization. Customer service is a great example of that. Players can access customer service via multiple channels like social media or in retail settings, and we have to ensure that they have a seamless experience with customer service that deals with their issues as they’re happening. To achieve that, we need customer service to communicate with the departments that can solve the issues. For that, we need to change our culture and structures.” While recognizing the importance of technology, Lorne argued that omnichannel cannot be successful without the right content. “Imagine someone built the most technologically advanced supermarket with the greatest POS system and the best customer tracking, and they’re offering one kind of cereal, one kind of milk, and one kind of soda pop. All the technology in the world isn’t going to make that a success. People won’t come to you just because you’ve got great technology, they’ll come if you have content that they want to engage with. So, the technological priority when moving toward omnichannel should be simply to maximize the content opportunities available to players across those channels.” In response, Shannon made the case for focusing on the technology. “Technology is not the sexy part to talk about, but it’s what makes these great games come alive and enables you to serve them to your players. And technology is changing so fast, that we really need to focus on six or ten years down the road and start asking difficult questions like, ‘Will we even need terminals in the future?’ Because what other consumer products require people to go to a special part of the store to check out? So, are there other solutions to make the experience more seamless? And it all comes back to the point about having flexible contracts.” "You need to have maximum flexibility written into the contracts," Richard agreed. "Additionally, you need orchestrated layers within your ecosystem technology so you can easily implement whatever is necessary to respond to market changes. Lotteries require their technology suppliers to provide flexibility and agility to compete effectively. To achieve this, vendors and lotteries must collaborate closely when creating new contracts." Returning to the theme of data, Randy highlighted the importance of customer data platforms. “We have so much data that lives in various aspects of our business, and we need to find a way to centralize that and get one true picture of players. I think all lotteries should prioritize looking at their different channels, reviewing how they’re collecting player data through those channels, and coming up with strategies to utilize that data.” Replying to Mark’s question about how to engage people who don’t currently play the Lottery, Lorne discussed the importance of importing proven gaming content from new game styles or even categories. “We have a library of around 300 games that we sell through every imaginable distribution channel—from physical machines to mobiles—and we know people like these games because they’re playing them like they’re going out of style. So, how can we repurpose these successful games so that they conform technically, ethically, and legally with the requirements of the lottery industry?” Richard argued that the whole debate comes down to one key issue: relevance. “Omnichannel alone is not going to be a silver bullet. What matters is how you use it to get customer data and insights that enable you to communicate better, craft better value propositions, and build better products that will be more relevant.” Discussing examples of brands from other industries that provide the most advanced omnichannel experiences, Shannon focused on grocery stores. “Companies like Meijer and Kroger do a really good job regardless of whether customers are buying online or at retail. And they know how to use customer data to provide personalized offers.” Similarly, Randy highlighted Target, which offers “a very seamless experience, you just log into their app when you’re going into the store, and it drops all the offers. They were a little late to the game, but when they got there, it’s as seamless as it gets.” Invited by Mark to share parting thoughts on the omnichannel player experience, Lorne returned to his earlier point about the opportunities and threats that exist in an omnichannel world. “Technology is enabling all these different worlds to converge, and that convergence creates amazing opportunities to go omnichannel. But as we’re looking at our world of Lottery, we also need to understand that the same technology is letting the rest of the universe converge on us whether we like it or not. So, we need to be very careful to look outside Lottery and see what’s happening there too, so that we can maximize the opportunities presented by omnichannel and minimize the risks.” Shannon advised, “Do what you can with what you have; every little step is a step in the right direction, and eventually you will get there.” Richard revisited the importance of “changing mindsets and starting to build up databases that enable you to bring in an omnichannel single view of the player.” Helene recommended, “Trying new things and not being afraid to make a mistake because nine times out of ten you learn from it, and the next thing you do is going to be better for it.” n
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