U.S. Lottery jurisdictions that have been able to use digital channels to engage customers have seen increases in revenue, according to Angela Wong, Vice President of Global Lottery Solutions for Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).
The former director of the Montana Lottery for more than 10 years, Wong said that in addition to the growth in digitalization and innovation, consumers are driving exciting changes in the lottery industry. In 2012, Illinois marked the beginning of iLottery – states selling lottery products over the internet and through mobile apps.
Angela Wong
“The pandemic triggered a tremendous growth in digital platforms, and since then, we’ve seen lotteries that have been able to offer products in that space increase online engagement with customers,” Wong said. “There are 11 U.S. lotteries that offer online lottery sales; however, the offerings themselves vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some offer only Powerball or Mega Millions, while others offer additional draw-based and instant games.”
Retail continues to be a crucial link with players, but the opportunity to have an online distribution channel has enabled lotteries to increase public awareness that has attracted new customers for all of their games, Wong said.
During the 2022 fiscal year, U.S. lottery revenues were close to $108 billion. Of that, iLottery made up about 5% of those overall revenues, Wong said.
“What we’re seeing now is that digital and retail can co-exist successfully, and that lotteries do an excellent job of reaching potential customers,” Wong said. “They are meeting consumer expectations and meeting consumers where they are.”
Wong shared that as digital technology evolves, it’s going to continue to impact the industry along with consumer expectations, but it may look different depending on the jurisdiction. Lotteries work to enable features to help both online and retail, she said.
“For instance, some lotteries use incentive programs or cross-sell between their online instant games and scratch instant games as the benefits of both complement each other,” Wong said.
“As innovation in lottery technologies continue to evolve, it presents many new opportunities but brings about additional risks,” Wong said. “States with iLottery platforms can utilize these new technologies to enable responsible gaming strategies such as offering self-exclusion programs and can also benefit from enhanced geolocation and fraud prevention.”
“Regardless of their approach, as lotteries work towards fulfilling their commitments to their beneficiaries, it’s essential for them to continuously analyze their risk and identify vulnerabilities that can cause harm,” added Wong.
Wong said by testing iLottery platforms, GLI can show that systems are dependable, secure, and operating smoothly. The technical standard for interactive gaming systems, GLI-19, was written to cover all online gaming activities outside of sports betting. It is used to test gaming platforms, infrastructure, and systems to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the operation.
“GLI-19 provides technical guidelines for iLottery and e-instant products and can be applied towards testing game content and platforms that support online lottery products and interactive game features,” Wong said. “GLI works with lotteries throughout the world to minimize risk, especially when the lotteries have these great opportunities moving forward. Because of this, GLI has a global view and can leverage experience and knowledge to help clients be successful.”
“GLI is so much more than testing and certification,” Wong noted. “We’re here to support lotteries and help them be successful. We also help with end-to-end lottery consulting, full lifecycle compliance services, quality assurance testing, proactive cybersecurity and audit services, cut-over services for new systems, and project management. We work to meet lotteries and clients where they are, helping them move forward with their strategic plans while maximizing their success by protecting and preparing for their tomorrow.”
