IGB Webinar: Lotteries-Breaking free from lockdown? treated the impact of current epidemic in lotteries

The recent suspension of national lottery (SELAE) ticket sales online and offline in Spain, showed that the impact of the global epidemic is not exclusive to land based casinos and sports-books.

The seminar had the aim to talk about the true impact on the industry and what can be done moving forward to sustain growth during these challenging times.

Key discussion points included the following questions: Are national lotteries going to be hit harder than their online counterparts?, Is online lottery the perfect solution for the lack of retail interfaces? and Is this the perfect opportunity for online lottery and national lotteries to finally work with each other?

Speakers were: Wendy Lawrence, Lottery Expert and Trainer, Totally Gaming Academy, and Ed Mouton, Chairman, eLBA.

Lawrence analyzed different national lotteries, such as UK, Italy, as well as state lotteries in the United States. With regard to the epidemics, she said: "We need to be more creative and innovative." She then added "The specific revenue impact in sales is not yet known, however, in different states, the scratch games had different impact, and added: "The solution is to be multichannel."

Ed Mounton said: "The way we used to live has changed, at it concerns to lottery games, too." He also highlighted that the consumers demand and transparence has been really positive. "Selling your tickets online and playing online is a challenge," he added.

"Lottery hasn't changed that much. Creating an environment to have an open conversation is important," added Mounton, who remarked that the current situation is forcing them to make changes. "I think every national lottery will be dealing with their own issues and their own audiences.

Besides, Lawrence affirmed that much more integration is needed for online purchase, and that there have to be technical solutions. She also said that the UK National lottery has trully embraced the online opportunities.

When asked if there is a real difference between online and traditional players, Ed Mounton said that online player is 25 to 45 years old. He then remarked that, on top of the customers age, the most important thing is to retain a customer.

Wendy Lawrence agreed that online players are up to 45 years old, and the retail customer is 45 years old and plus. "The main thing is to engage the customer with the lottery brand. Ed is right. We have to get a variety of opportunities to engage customers in different channels".

Finally, Mounton said that the flexibility you have online is much higher than in traditional sales, and Wendy assured that the state national lotteries have to have a mature online presence. "For those that don't have an online presence, it's time to start. If not, revenues will be hit hard. The time to do it is now," she concluded.