Public Gaming International May/June 2020

8 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2020 From the Publisher Well, it’s hard to know where to begin. So much has changed since PGRI SMART- Tech Miami and the Women’s Initiative in Lottery Leadership Seminar were held the rst week of March. As we move past crisis management mode and forward with a spirit of optimism and positive expectations for recovering from these di cult times, we start to think about what the post- coronavirus world will look like. What are we going to do to make our brands, our games, our services, and ourselves more relevant than ever? How will we lead boldly and con dently into an uncertain future? We may not know what the “new normal” will look like. But we do need to make decisions now based on what we think it might look like. Clearly, there will be profound challenges and the need to make adjustments to the way we operate. I think we can expect there will be abundant opportunity as well. 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 o er. We enlisted industry leaders to share their thoughts on how we might adapt and lead in the post-coronavirus world. We thank them for their incredibly thoughtful commentaries. I think all of them would preface their comments with the caveat that these are initial thoughts on a highly dynamic and uid situation that requires exibility to adapt and change course as needed going forward. Following are just a few of the themes discussed: ■ Many lifestyle, consumer, and shopping behaviours will be changed forever. We may not be wearing masks forever, but social distancing will continue to be a reality. E orts to reduce the “high-touch, high-contact” nature of retail shopping and increased migration to online shopping will not stop once the virus is under control. ■ Tax revenues that support government services will be severely impacted for the foreseeable future. Shapers of public and regulatory policy will be turning to Lottery to generate more income to balance the budget shortfalls. is should increase the likelihood of regulatory change that allows more games, more exibility in how and where the games are made available to the consumer, and more exibility to advertise and manage the business to maximize net funds for the bene t of society. We can hope anyway. ■ It is a myth that lotteries do not su er the e ects of an economic downturn. And there really is no historical precedence to guide us in how the forces of economic recession combined with global pandemic may impact the lottery industry. ■ Crises tend to catalyze innovation if for no other reason than what we used to do no longer works. Change is forced upon us whether we like it or not. So we may as well embrace the opportunity to take big leaps forward and look for opportunity to instigate an ambitious agenda to modernize. Further to that: Times of change represent an opportunity to capture the attention of an audience which is more open to new ideas than ever. ■ Lottery needs to do more than just make the products available online. We even need to do more than develop new games for the online world. We need to build a whole new player experience for the Digital World. ink more like APPLE, Starbucks, and TESLA to create a deeper and broader personal a liation with the overall experience and the brand relationship. ■ Draw games have been impacted much more than Instant Scratchers which continued to perform quite well in many jurisdictions. ■ e trend towards self-service vending and checkout and cashless and “contactless” retailing will clearly accelerate. ■ It’s more important than ever to reinforce bene ciary messaging and the mission of Lottery to serve society. ■ Retailers are anxious and concerned about their own future. is represents an opportunity to reinforce the symbiotic relationship that Lottery has with all its channel partners. ■ Cornonavirus marks a hard break with the “Information Age” and leap into the era of Digital Transformation wherein every aspect of life is materially enhanced by technology. ■ Video-conferencing has enabled a surprisingly high level of productivity in spite of lock-downs. But it does not replace the need for team-work that is facilitated by personal interaction. Our Fall event – Lottery Expo – will be held in the fabulous Music City of Nashville, Tennessee . Tentatively scheduled for the end of September, we will keep you posted on speci c dates, venue, and program as they are con rmed. 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. We are thinking about you with a new sense of appreciation for the great privilege of actually being together again in person – and sooner than later! Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine