May/June 2015 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL //
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they are companies who reach out to a very large and varied audi-
ence of citizens by offering their services in a strictly-controlled and
responsible manner and by respecting the law.
Lotteries can play an active role in the development of a sustain-
able digital society, in fully respecting the balance of competence
between the Member States and the European Union. Lotteries
can, through dialogue with the digital community and SNS opera-
tors, enhance consumer confidence and commercial fairness. They
can help shape the right environment for other services to flourish
in a digital market while, at the same time, fully respecting the laws
of the Member States and the principle of subsidiarity through the
appropriate and fully justified digital tools.
This brings us to our final point, which looks to the future devel-
opment of the European Union and the fact that Lotteries can be
the partners of both the Member States and the European Union.
Over the past few decades, the discussion within the EU has
been limited to the question of whether the Member States
could implement their own gambling policy. In the absence of
harmonisation, the Court of Justice of the EU accepted that, for
reasons of consumer protection and/or the fight against fraud
and crime, the Member States could maintain certain restric-
tions. However, it is necessary to move beyond that limited
paradigm. Lotteries should be one of the main driving forces in
the pan-European recognition that there are common principles
that the EU and the Member States consider essential: a politi-
cal, social and cultural Union alongside the economic project of
continued European integration.
Lotteries agree that, while respecting their national respective
legal and social traditions, a strong connection must be forged
between the proceeds, with their origins in an activity which is
always ethically open-to-debate, and the support for societally-
desirable objectives. At the EU level, lotteries can further develop
that message, and contribute to the development of 21st century
projects, such as the Digital Single Market, as they once did with
the introduction of the Euro without undermining the Member
States competence.
Lotteries also capture the diversity of the European Union proj-
ect. Member States are not identical, and have different cultural,
ethical and religious backgrounds, which should continue to be
recognised as well. The Euro captures this image perfectly: one side
of the Euro coin is the same, stating “1 EURO” with the European
map in the background. The other side of the coin is different for
each Eurozone Member State: Austria puts Mozart on the Euro
coin, Belgium places its King, and Italy places Leonardo Da Vinci’s
Vitruvian man on the background.
In a similar vein, lotteries will continue to contribute to the EU’s
socio-economic and cultural unity-in-diversity in the 21st century
as they did before.
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A Sustainable Gambling Policy for the Benefit of Society in Europe …
continued from page 66
Keno, which drives up their per-cap figures.
Analyzing and disaggregating per-capita figures can help you fo-
cus on areas where you actually have the ability to improve. When
looking at other jurisdictions’ figures, consider factors such as cross-
border issues (Georgia benefits from being next to Alabama, a non-
lottery state), competition (primarily casinos) and context (e.g.,
a history of illegal numbers playing). But the reverse is also im-
portant—don’t look at individual game per-caps in isolation; they
must be considered in the context of your jurisdictions’ total game
portfolio. Performance measurement, and the proper use of the
metrics available, is as much art as science. It’s not the sole province
of the financial staff or the marketing staff or the operations staff.
Bring everyone together in their evaluation and understanding.
Finally, one of the greatest sources of growth potential for your
lottery is your staff. And while you may not be able to reward
people financially, recognition is hugely important in motivating
your people. Sales people in particular are competitive; measure
their performance and give awards for “Best Sales Person” for July,
or for Region 3, or for the year. If you’re allowed to have sales
conferences, use them to reward your staff. If not, use your regular
office meetings to highlight success stories and thank your high
performers. Good performance is infectious and will spread to
many others. Be fair, be generous in your praise, be explicit about
goals and objectives and avoid playing favorites. Use your annual
performance evaluations (you do have annual written performance
evaluations, don’t you?) to inspire and motivate, not punish.
Some ideas may be corny, but are still effective. Keep “Employee
of the Month” selections lighthearted, celebrate personal occasions,
keep up the daily “fun” quotient in your office routines, greet your
players (and especially your winners) with sincere affection and al-
ways reinforce the sheer pleasure of playing the lottery. Employee
morale can be a hugely important tool for business success, and can
be developed in any type of organization, private or public. It sim-
ply requires managers to recognize its value and prioritize its role.
Private management of lotteries, while having clear potential
benefits, does not imply that public management cannot be simi-
larly effective in delivering superior results. The tools may be dif-
ferent, but enlightened managers can still be highly successful. The
distinction between public and private lottery management is not
necessarily a key determinant of high performance.
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Gordon Medenica Appointed to Lead …
continued from page 14
