Special Ongoing Feature:

 Preparing for a

post-coronavirus world 

 Paul Jason, PGRI Introduction: I asked lottery directors and industry leaders to share their views on the impact of the pandemic crisis and how Lottery might respond to the economic repercussions that follow.  I so appreciate their thoughtful responses and am sure you will too.  Thank you so much for your generosity and leadership! 

We will try to post one a day.  Some of the talking points: 
--  How will the world be different when we come out of this crisis - and how will the lottery industry, retailing, consumer shopping and recreational behavior be different?  
--  What should we be doing to position our businesses for success in the post-coronavirus world?  
--  Lottery has historically performed better than other sectors in an economic recession.  How severely will the economic repercussions of coronavirus impact Lottery?  
--  What opportunities will emerge in the post-coronavirus world?  
--  Crises tend to upend the risk-return calculus of innovation to favor innovation - Do you think this crisis will accelerate the adoption of new game categories, new technologies, new business processes and distributional methods?     
--  How might we reinforce the symbiotic relationship that Lottery has always had with its retail partners? 
--  What are some of the new challenges and obstacles that we will need to adjust to? 

Olli Sarekoski,  Chief Executive Officer, Veikkaus, Finland

Matthew Strawn, Chief Executive Officer, Iowa Lottery

Rebecca Hargrove, President & CEO, Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation; President, World Lottery Association (WLA); Founder & Chair of Women’s Initiative in Lottery Leadership (WILL)

Lynne Roiter, President & Chief Executive Officer, Loto-Québec

Gregg Mineo, Director, Maine Lottery; Chair of MUSL Powerball Group

Sue van der Merwe, Managing Director – Lotteries & Keno, Tabcorp

Dr. Heinz-Georg Sundermann Managing Director, Lotto Hessen GmbH

  David Barden, Chief Executive Officer, New Mexico Lottery

Andreas Kötter, Chief Executive Officer, WestLotto, Münster, Germany

Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Chief Executive Officer, Loterie Romande

Click here to read the commentary from Mark Hichar, Shareholder with Greenberg Traurig, LLP, resident in its Boston office, legal counsel on gaming, gambling, lottery

Click here to read the commentary from Kevin Gass, Vice President Lottery Gaming, BCLC (British Columbia Lottery Corporation)

Click here to read the commentary from Brian Rockey, Director, Nebraska Lottery and Charitable Gaming Division

Click here to read the commentary from Harold Mays, Acting Director, Illinois Lottery

Click here to read the commentary from Gregg Edgar, Executive Director, Arizona Lottery

Click here to read the commentary from Mark Michalko, Executive Director, North Carolina Education Lottery

  Click here to read the commentary from Rose Hudson, President & CEO, Louisiana Lottery Corporation

Click here to read the commentary from Gretchen Corbin, President and CEO, Georgia Lottery Corporation

Click here to read the commentary from Gordon Medenica, Director, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency

Click here to read the commentary from May Scheve Reardon, Executive Director, Missouri Lottery

Click here to read the commentary from John White, Deputy Director of Finance, New Jersey Lottery

Click here to read the commentary from Rollo Redburn, Executive Director, Oklahoma Lottery

Click here to read the commentary from Jeff Anderson, Executive Director, Idaho Lottery, COVID-19 Thoughts from Fly-Over Country

Click here to read the commentary from Pat McDonald, Director, Ohio Lottery

                 Thank you to everyone who participated in PGRI SMART-Tech Miami and the Women's Initiative in Lottery Leadership Seminar sponsored by IGT.  I hope you all enjoyed your time at the Eden Roc Miami Hotel as much as we enjoyed hosting the event.  We want to thank our sponsors for all their help in organizing SMART-Tech.  We want to thank everyone for their fabulous presentations.  We asked presenters, moderators, and panelists to stretch to deliver a memorable conference experience with ideas that are fresh, impactful, and truly grab the audience attention, and they did.  Along with our technology partners, the leaders of the most progressive lotteries in the world shared their vision for where the industry is headed over the next three years.  Sixty+ directors and top execs from thirty-five different lotteries joined another hundred+ technology partners for three days of brainstorming.  As all PGRI events now include a WILL (Women’s Initiative in Lottery Leadership) Seminar, SMART-Tech Miami was followed by a WILL seminar on the afternoon of the second day of the conference.   Check out the program to get a glimpse of what was discussed.  Then check out PGRItalks.com in a couple weeks to see the video-recorded presentations.   And look for updates on our next event which will be in New York City tentatively scheduled for the third week of September.   

Message from Susan and Paul

So much has changed since PGRI SMART-Tech Miami and the Women's Initiative in Lottery Leadership Seminar were held the first week of March.  As we move past crisis management mode and forward with a spirit of optimism and positive expectations for recovering from these difficult times, we will start to talk about what the post-coronavirus world will look like.  What are we going to do to make ourselves, our games, and our products and services more relevant than ever?  I’m not sure any of us knows what the “new normal” will look like.  But I think we can expect there will be abundant opportunity as well as challenges and the need to make adjustments to the way we operate.  With ingenuity and a dedication to the service of our many stakeholders, let’s work together to prepare for a re-bounding consumer demand and a new normal that will be even more receptive to the incredible value that government-lotteries have to offer.  

We thank you for your support and re-commit to an industry that serves the interests of society, of good causes, of players and retail partners, and of countless Lottery-sector stakeholders.  And we are thinking about you with a new sense of appreciation for the great privilege of actually being together again in person.  Sooner than later!  Virtual Hugs, Susan and Paul