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// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // September/October 2016
Paul Jason:
How does your, background,
academic training, and experience as a CPA
inform your approach to the way you think
of business strategy and objectives?
Carole Hedinger:
I think that my
background in public accounting is an ex-
cellent basis for managing a lottery organi-
zation for optimal financial performance,
for both short-term profit maximization
and for long-term sustainability. For in-
stance, the focus of an accountant is go-
ing to be more on preserving margins than
maximizing sales. To our minds, that not
only optimizes short-term net funding,
it is also a vital key to optimizing long-
term sustainability and responsible gam-
ing. That may seem obvious, but there is
a lot of pressure on everyone to increase
sales by enhancing the value proposition
to the players by increasing payout per-
centages and price points. A case could
probably be made for the efficacy of that
as a strategy to increase short term sales.
To be sure, it may even increase short-
term net. But, to my mind, the degree
to which it may increase short-term net
is greatly off-set by the impact it has on
the profit model going forward. Typically,
players quickly realize when you increase
the prize-payout percentage which cre-
ates a demand for higher and higher prize
payouts. That creates a slippery slope. By
increasing prize-payouts, we are train-
PUBLIC GAMING
INTERVIEWS
Carole
HEDINGER
Executive Director, New Jersey Lottery
The Private-Public Partnership in Action
PGRI Introduction:
It has been three years since the state
of New Jersey entered into a 15-year contract with North-
star New Jersey, a joint venture consisting of GTECH (now
IGT) and Scientific Games. The goal is to enlist the resourc-
es and capabilities of private enterprise to drive responsible
growth and optimize operations in the New Jersey State
Lottery. In Fiscal Year 2016, the Lottery grossed $3.2 billion
in sales, contributing $980 million to the State in support of
its beneficiaries.
The New Jersey Lottery also implements industry best prac-
tices as defined by the World Lottery Association (WLA) in
its Responsible Gaming Framework (RGF). In September
2012, the Lottery received its Level I Responsible Gaming
Framework Certificate of Accreditation. In 2015, the Lottery
achieved the WLA Level II and Level III Responsible Gaming
Framework Certificates of Accreditation. Only five other Lot-
teries in the nation have achieved the Level III Certification.
The Lottery continues to work with its partner, Northstar New
Jersey Lottery, to make advances toward attaining the high-
est responsible gaming recognition offered in the industry by
achieving the WLA Level IV Certificate of Accreditation.
Carole Hedinger served as deputy director of the New Jer-
sey Lottery between 1994 and 2003 before being appointed
acting director in 2003. She left that position in 2004 to as-
sume the role of Chief Clerk at the Ocean County Surrogate
Court where she served until June of 2010. That is when
Carole was again appointed to lead the New Jersey Lottery
where she continues to serve as Executive Director. The last
three years have been a period of major changes for the
New Jersey Lottery as they spearhead the implementation
of an entirely new model for optimizing performance at a
state government lottery: the private-public partnership.