Public Gaming Magazine January/February 2016

January/February 2016 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL //

that we are not technophobes. We just

want to find better ways to leverage tech-

nology, especially existing technologi-

cal infrastructures, to enhance the lives

of consumers. For instance, integrating

the digital world with land-based Retail

is a technology-rich endeavor. And that

is definitely part of our strategy. And us-

ing our online connection to inform and

communicate with our players is a vital

part of Lottery’s future. And, for that

matter, we certainly do want to provide

an attractive option for those consumers

who want to buy Lottery products on-

line. We just see all these goals as being

compatible, even mutually reinforcing.

And we are working with our Retailers

to help them embrace all these tools, and

all forms of human behavior and lifestyle

goals, as being consistent with their own

business interests.

I notice, Paul, that you often use the

word “transformational.” None of these

things that I am talking about are trans-

formational or revolutionary. No dra-

matic visions of a future taken over by

technology. They are based on the way

the world operates right now, not in

some unpredictable future. They are very

actionable and produce material near-

term results. That’s the beauty of it. In-

novation does not need to be transforma-

tional. It just needs to re-imagine the way

we do things to see how we can do things

in a better way.

What are you doing to entice the consumer

to spend more time at the retail stores?

F. Paes Afonso:

We are working to

make the Point-of-Sale into a destina-

tion to play games as opposed to buying

a product. One of the things we are do-

ing is to use pari-mutuel horserace bet-

ting and Sports betting as a way to bring

the customers into the store and think of

the store as a recreational venue. Our real

goal is to promote Lottery and we are at

the same time developing a play-station

approach that engages the consumer in

ways that other games do. It is all about

reinventing the traditional POS consum-

er experience. We want people to redis-

cover the fantastic public space we have

in Portugal, and the joy of experiencing

that with other people. And we are using

the fundamental Lottery-playing envi-

ronment to make that happen.

And your online sales are growing right

alongside of retail sales?

F. Paes Afonso:

Absolutely. It is a

synthesis of strategies that supports our

business objectives with an appreciation

for how Lottery might fit into the lives

of the modern consumer. We invest in

our online channels but with a focus on

building a foundation that engages the

consumer at Retail as well as online. For

us, online is not just a channel to drive

sales. It is a digital communication net-

work that informs and enhances our

overall engagement with the consumer.

It is all about sustainability, delivering

value to the consumer, and doing that by

identifying and highlighting the unique-

ness of the Lottery-playing experiencing.

And that always brings us back to the

consumer experience at Retail.

How was the EL Innovation Seminar dif-

ferent from other EL Educational seminars?

F. Paes Afonso:

There was a focus on

process and creating a culture that stimu-

lates creativity and innovation. The pre-

sentations showed us how Lotteries really

need to look outside of our industry for

ideas and insights into how others are

driving progress and innovation. For ex-

ample, we should understand more about

the internal culture of start-ups. We think

of Lottery as an established business, and

a big business that leverages scale. So,

what can we learn from start-ups? Well,

start-ups don’t have scale or capital. They

have only one thing to leverage and that

is their ingenuity, their creativity. Their

only real asset is their ability to innovate.

In that sense, start-ups are the experts

at innovation. And media companies.

Their only real product is their imagina-

tion. How do they foster and support a

culture that stimulates imagination? The

presentations helped us to deconstruct

the concrete elements, the specific things

that can be done to create the environ-

ment that drives innovation, and provid-

ed examples of how to build a culture of

innovation inside lotteries. For example,

Française des Jeux showed us some un-

usual approaches to fostering creativity

in the design of new digital games. This

was the first seminar of its kind in the

EL. Wojciech Szpil, the CEO of Totaliza-

tor Sportowy (the Polish Lottery) was the

organizer and he did a fabulous job. He

comes from the world of advertising and

so has a wealth of experience that he is

bringing to this industry.

There is no other economic activity

that engages and involves all sectors of

economic society like Lottery does. The

government, the good causes supported

by Lottery funds, and the general pub-

lic are our major stakeholders. And our

player-ship is so broad that the general

public is basically our customer. We are

accountable to all these institutions and

yet we are also a market-driven business

enterprise. Lottery is right in the middle

of it all which makes this a most inter-

esting position to operate in. Most of all,

though, is the special privilege it is to

work alongside colleagues throughout the

world in service to our stakeholders in the

mission to raise funds for good causes.

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