Can lottery industry operators win the entertainment jackpot?

Lotteries have been the most trusted source of gambling entertainment for generations, changing lives for both those lucky enough to have chosen winning numbers as well as for the thousands of good causes that benefit from the mass appeal mega jackpots and scratchcards have across the globe.

Now, due to changing customer behaviours that are increasingly influenced by online and mobile entertainment, these large, often government-managed and majority retail-based organisations, are at a crossroads and are having to reconsider their platform and product strategies in order to remain relevant.

Like land-based casinos, lotteries are facing an ageing customer base which isn’t supported by a new upcoming audience following behind. There is a need to diversify and attract new players and the pool is from a generation of customers who have grown up in a digital age and expect a smooth user experience and instant gratification. They don’t distinguish between channel – they just want a fun, personalised and consistent experience. And with an increasingly large number of instantaneous entertainment options at their fingertips, the competition for leisure spend online is intensifying. Lotteries’ new customers are already online – just not with lottery.

For most lotteries, their biggest asset is the trust and respect they hold with customers built from the history and weight behind their brand. However, if lotteries fail to embrace the potential and innovative approaches of digital, they run the risk of their brands becoming associated with outmoded means of engaging players – a reputation which may, in the future, be difficult to shake.

Delivering on new digital dynamics

An advantage lotteries hold over other online gambling operators is how attuned they are to the preferences of their players. A core step in driving acquisition and enhancing retention is to embrace platforms with the tools that give them the capacity to configure the ideal gaming experience to acquire and retain players on an extended basis; energising a new audience to give them a recognisable product that provides an experience they can return to repeatedly.

Embracing a digital platform puts a multitude of functions at a lottery’s disposal when it comes to gaining the upper hand in the battle for online leisure spend.

Lottery’s heritage is in retail but connecting the retail channel with online unlocks single wallet and player incentive functionality, creating a 360-degree experience, both for the operator and their knowledge of the player and the player themselves in terms of how they experience lottery.

Lotteries can better compete in an evolving digital landscape through factors including loyalty schemes and incentives. Greeting returning players with free games and promotional draws makes for an altogether more rewarding experience to which they are more likely to return on a long-term basis, enhancing player loyalty to the lottery’s brand alongside their lifetime value.

The nature of lottery draws means that the excitement is often over swiftly, making it difficult to hold a player’s attention. Snacking content is crucial here with regards to not losing out to other forms of online entertainment.

The evolution of lottery

Online games that are seamlessly accessible between draws and can cross-sell into verticals such as sportsbook, are becoming increasingly crucial to lottery winning out over other forms of online entertainment. There are cues that lottery can take from the way bingo has succeeded in keeping players engaged once the thrill of the initial game has passed, offering side content that boosts its capacity to be an all-around entertainment product. Second-chance draws, free games and gamification can all help in accomplishing the delivery of a more rounded offer across channels.

With competition intensifying across several established markets worldwide, and with many others such as North America beginning to open the pathway to regulated online and mobile play, the time is now for lotteries to embrace digital.

This begins with partnering with the right digital platform solutions partner that can provide lotteries with the latest multi-channel technology to connect their existing retail operations to a new online and mobile offering, both converting loyal customers and acquiring a new generation of players.

Lotteries are in a unique and largely advantageous position over online operators that often stray into grey market territories. They are trusted and played by millions and seen as highly regulated, and responsible businesses that give back hundreds of millions in profits to charities and community projects.

To stay ahead of the competition and remain both accessible and relevant to a new digital audience, they must be prepared to evolve sooner rather than later.

Alistair Boston-Smith, Bede Gaming

Alistair Boston-Smith joined Bede in 2015 as chief business development officer, becoming the chief strategy officer in 2018. As bid director at Bede he led its successful response to become the Ontario Lottery’s new player platform and technology partner.