Agency

TEXAS LOTTERY RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS INDUSTRY HONOR

AUSTIN —The Texas Lottery Commission received the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries’ (NASPL) top award, the Best of the Batch Award, during the 2022 World Lottery Summit (WLS) held Oct. 16-20, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The agency was awarded the honor for its work on its 30^th Anniversary documentary, “30 Years of Winning,” which features a detailed look at the first three decades of the Texas Lottery. The documentary debuted on the agency’s YouTube channel in Feb. 2022.

“We are beyond honored to earn the Texas Lottery’s first-ever ‘Best of the Batch’ Award from our North American lottery peers,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “It was our goal to bring as many people together as possible to recount stories of the organization’s first three decades to be showcased during the Texas Lottery’s year-long 30^th Anniversary celebration, which culminated on May 29, 2022. I’m so proud of the work that our team put into the production of ‘30 Years of Winning.’ To have this storytelling recognized by the lottery industry is a testament to the creativity and hard work executed by our talented staff.”

The agency qualified for the Best of the Batch Award because the documentary won the Batchy Award in the Special Category: Corporate/Beneficiary Video category. The Texas Lottery was also a Batchy Award finalist in four other categories. For the Special Category: Use of Humor – Digital Media category, the agency was recognized for its “Power X” spot, while its 30^th Anniversary Responsible Gambling social media campaign was honored as a finalist in the Responsible Gambling Communications: Print category. The agency was also a finalist in the Corporate Communications: Employee/Player Newsletter category for its Summer 2021 edition of the “TLC Team News” and in the Corporate Communications: Annual Report category for the agency’s 2021 Comprehensive Business Plan and Annual Report.

“30 Years of Winning” explores the Texas Lottery’s compelling mission, the success of its unique business model and the employee culture. With a runtime of 28 minutes and 35 seconds, the documentary was produced between July 2021 and January 2022 and is comprised of 44 interviews, spanning approximately 11 hours of raw interview footage. The film is told from the perspective of nearly all of the Texas Lottery’s primary stakeholders, including many current employees who were involved with initial startup operations in 1992 through the first five years, ending in 1997; Texas Lottery senior leadership; the agency’s first executive director; current and former Texas Lottery commissioners; current and former Texas legislators; representatives of the Texas Lottery’s primary beneficiaries, the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Veterans Commission; and lottery industry professionals. Archival video sourced from the Texas Lottery’s internal Beta SP video collection was digitized in 2020, making it possible to bring new life to historical moments, such as the first ticket purchase by Governor Ann Richards, the first Lotto Texas^® broadcast drawing and winners’ check presentations.

The documentary was produced internally by the Texas Lottery’s 30^th Anniversary Documentary Subcommittee. Media Relations Division Director Lauren Callahan served as the producer; Philip Bates served as editor and videographer for the project. Texas Lottery staff members Stephen Cruz, Steve Helm, Andrew Leeper, Roger Prather, Lee Robbins and Mehul Shah also assisted with documentary production, while directors Nelda Treviño and Ryan Mindell served as consultants to the film.

The Batchy Awards honor the memory and distinguished career of Ralph Batch, a champion of quality lottery advertising and business communication practices. Each year, the Batchy Awards are presented to recognize lottery advertising and communication achievements that uphold the level of excellence Batch exemplified throughout his career. Batchy Award categories include television, radio, and print advertising, digital media, corporate communications, responsible gambling communications and multicultural advertising. The Best of the Batch Award, granted to the entry that stands above the rest, exemplifies the level of innovativeness that all lotteries should aspire to achieve.

About the Texas Lottery
Beginning with the first ticket sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated $35.7 billion in revenue for the state and distributed $77.5 billion in prizes to lottery players. Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has contributed $29.8 billion to the Foundation School Fund, which supports public education in Texas. As authorized by the Texas Legislature, certain Texas Lottery revenues benefit state programs including the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Since the first veterans’ themed scratch ticket game was launched in 2009, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $194 million for programs supporting Texas veterans.

The Texas Lottery provides several entertaining games for lottery players including Powerball^®, Mega Millions^®, Lotto Texas^®, All or Nothing^™, Texas Two Step^®, Pick 3^™, Daily 4^™, Cash Five^® and scratch ticket games. For more information visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube or at texaslottery.com. PLAY RESPONSIBLY.