Public Gaming Magazine September-October 2016

September/October 2016 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL //

best of all, lottery is a vehicle for social good, funding great causes

such as education, senior benefits and environmental concerns. In

all of these measures, lottery meets or exceeds the value of DFS to

players, retailers and society as a whole.

Now imagine living in a lottery world where the engagement

of a live, authentic sporting event determines the results of a daily

draw. Especially as we look for new ways to engage players of all

generations, a game that fits this description would clearly make a

significant impact on lottery revenues across the U.S.

But I hear you saying, “Sports gaming is for people who like

games of skill. We need to concentrate on more traditional lottery

concepts.” It’s easy to see how one could have such an opinion.

With rare exception, games based on the results of a sporting event

have only been offered as a game of skill.

And why is that? Is it because of the reams of research testing the

appeal of sports gaming by games of chance players? Or is it more

likely the fallacies of unchecked conventional wisdom? I would

suggest it is the latter.

Lottery players love live sporting events as much as any other

major demographic. They may prefer the simplicity that games of

chance provide, but that in no way diminishes their desire to be

a part of the action. And when you consider the many popular

scratch off tickets offering sports experience prize packages, it’s ex-

citing to think about how this yet-to-be-realized product segment

could improve the lots of lotteries in the future.

This evolution in lottery gaming begins with EquiLottery, a draw-

style game based on the excitement of live horse racing. Heralded as

The Next Generation of Lottery Draw Games, EquiLot-

tery allows players to immerse themselves in the ac-

tion at the racetrack through mobile phones

and tablets, delivering the kind of authentic

play style consumers crave. On that note,

the ability to deliver the actual live action

through a lottery-provided mobile app ac-

tually gives us a leg up on our more famous

contemporaries. DFS players still have to rely

on traditional means of broadcast to actually

watch the sports their games are based upon.

Research conducted in conjunction with our

partner Ipsos shows how this integration of lottery

and live sports can appeal to all player segments and

demographics as core players, infrequent players and non-

players all indicated an exceptional desire to play EquiLottery. And

with no difference in demographic appeal, our game earned the same

high rating from 20something Millennials as it did with 50some-

thing Baby Boomers.

EquiLottery won’t be the last word on live sports lottery integra-

tion, especially as sports gaming becomes more liberalized across

the country. But with the historical legal advantages of horse rac-

ing and a format that already feels like a draw game, it will almost

certainly be the first.

Build now for the future. Capitalize on the DFS wave. Let’s play

EquiLottery.

■

You’d have to be purposely oblivious at this point to have not no-

ticed the rise of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS). Advertising campaigns

have exceeded a quarter of a billion dollars from the two leaders in the

industry since 2015. News stations often highlight the major invest-

ments made by pro sports leagues, team owners and media companies

in these businesses. Attorneys General across the U.S. have weighed

in on its legality and many state legislatures have passed enabling

legislation when necessary to keep this industry growing.

There are thousands of columns you can read

about any of these themes and Google will gladly

help you down that rabbit hole. We’ll let oth-

ers continue to pontificate on those angles. In-

stead, publications like PGRI should lead the

way on evaluating the appeal of this relatively

new gaming option and how the lottery

can best emulate its success.

At its core, DFS is about immersing

players in a live sports experience where the

outcome of an unpredictable event determines

their future winnings. It’s simple and easy to play,

making an entire day of football or baseball not just watch-

able, but immensely engaging. The lynch pin is a highly interac-

tive mobile app that appeals to millennials and helps players to nimbly

navigate the game experience.

What pieces of this narrative can we as a lottery industry build

upon?Which are not possible due to the legal and political restrictions

we encounter as an industry? And are there opportunities for lottery

to actually bring something to the table that DFS can’t or won’t?

When lottery is at its best, it’s a simple form of gaming explain-

able to consumers in less than one minute. It’s an enhancement

to the retailer who makes our branding and distribution models

possible. Lottery can be boosted by mobile app integration. And

The Lottery

Answer to the

Appeal of Daily

Fantasy Sports

By Brad Cummings

Founder & Chief Executive Officer,

EquiLottery