From the Publisher
By Paul Jason, Publisher, Public Gaming International Magazine
U.S. lotteries are connecting with their
mission as multi-billion dollar marketers
of consumer products like never before.
The spirit of entrepreneurial energy is driving change in every
aspect of the business. Powerball (PB)and Mega Millions (MM)
are now sold in all the lottery states. And in October, most of the
state lotteries will be launching the new National Premium Game,
Monopoly Millionaires’ Club (MMC). This is arguably the most
exciting new game to launch in the history of U.S. lotteries. And,
the MMC has a whole raft of truly exciting and innovative pro-
motional initiatives, like a multi-state TV game show, to position
Lottery for success in the new world of multi-media and social
networking. The U.S. lotteries are taking material steps to ensure
that they continue to thrive in the consumer-centric world of the
future, operating like the multi-billion dollar, market-driven en-
terprises that they are.
But, change and progress never happens without the incursion of
unanticipated consequences that disrupt the status quo. The initiatives
to cross-sell both of the big jackpot games in all states, the increase
in the price of PB to $2 a ticket, and now the launch of Monopoly
Millionaires Club are completely changing the face of Lottery in the
U.S. As regards the overall sales of PB and MM, the net impact of
the changes made to date has absolutely been positive. Now, with the
introduction of MMC, the need to apply smart category management
tools to the growing portfolio of multi-state games is becoming more
pressing than ever.
Stephen Martino
addresses these issues, and
why the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency voted to join
MUSL (the Multi-State Lottery Association that operates Powerball
at the direction of its members).
Industry Days is a closed conference, held every other year, that
is attended by the top leaders of the European lotteries. PGRI had
the privilege of inducting
Jean-Luc Moner-Banet
and
Bernadette
Lobjois
into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame in a lovely ceremony
at the closing night banquet. (
Alan Eland
,
Michael Conforti
,
Mar-
garet DeFrancisco
, and
Jim Haynes
were inducted at the NASPL
conference last October.) Congratulations to all members of the Lot-
tery Hall of Fame, and thank you for your service to this most worthy
industry! PGRI also had the privilege of moderating a panel discus-
sion titled “Drivers of change that unlock the power of lotteries to
excel in a competitive market.” The panel discussions and presenta-
tions at Industry Days reflect the highly dynamic state of the gam-
ing market-place in Europe. Of course, government lotteries are not
well-served by regulatory change that opens the market up to mul-
tiple operators to compete for the business (thankfully, though, not
in the traditional lottery segment). The explosion of online gaming
operators is definitely affecting the entire industry in Europe, includ-
ing lottery. The bright side of this picture is that European lotteries
are moving aggressively to compete in this environment. Mobile is
big, but it’s really about connecting with the consumer on all levels
and through all media in an integrated “omni-channel” approach to
media and distribution.
U.S. lotteries are facing similar challenges, but there are sig-
nificant differences. Most U.S. lotteries continue to focus on the
traditional lottery games, and that is not threatened by regula-
tory change. But there continues to be well-funded lobbying cam-
paigns directed at convincing the federal government to trample
on states’ rights to regulate and tax online gambling. If success-
ful, the resulting federal legislation could conceivably affect even
traditional lottery. The bottom-line for U.S. lotteries is that, for
a variety of reasons, adoption of the “omni-channel” model is a
slow process.
Not to be deterred from their mission to grow sales, U.S. lotteries
are pushing in all the directions that are available to them. Monopoly
Millionaires’Club being one shining example. Another is the tremen-
dous inroads that have been made to enhance the relationship with
their retail partners. The vast majority of this issue of PGRI magazine
is devoted to retailing. The “Synopsis of Retail Panel Discussions”
conveys many of the issues and ideas that the industry leaders are
grappling with. Of course, the panelists do not presume to speak for
the entire industry. But they do represent a cross-section of perspec-
tives from the lottery operator, the retailer, and the vendor sides of the
business. It is lengthy, but it has been edited and organized by topic
to try to make it more reader-friendly. You might find that the discus-
sions raise as many questions as they answer, but I would submit that
getting these issues onto the table for serious discussion, is a good
step towards solving problems and forging the most collaborative
and productive retailing strategies.
I want to thank
Mark Hagen
(7-Eleven, Inc.) in particular for his
contributions to our magazine, to our conferences, and to the dia-
logue that is bringing these retailing issues to light, and framing them
in ways that are freeing the industry up to make progress in the way
Lottery operates at Retail. To be sure, Mark is outspoken about the
need for Lottery to raise its game (pun alert). But he strives to deal
with the limitations that make it difficult for lotteries to accomplish
everything that should be done. He has helped us to talk less about
what can’t be done and why it can’t be done, and instead to focus on
what can be done. And to focus on the end-result and think creatively
and collaboratively about how to move the needle towards actionable
solutions that will enable retailers to more effectively drive lottery
sales. Win-win-win-win for everyone.
And
thank you to all of our editorial contributors!
I challenged
them to dig deep to articulate a vision for how Lottery can transform
itself into the benchmark for retailing ‘best practices’, and they de-
livered in spades.
Lottery Expo
will be held at the Eden Roc Resort on Miami’s
South Beach. September 9, 10, and 11. Visit our conference website
for further details, registration informa-
tion, and program updates.
I hope you can come!
u
Public Gaming International • July/August 2014
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