“Advances in technology have caused all lotteries internationally to take a closer look at the way they do business”

Which is the main objective of the World Lottery Association in the coming months?
In the coming months we will be occupied with a number of big projects. As you know, the WLA 2010 Convention and Trade Show will take place in Brisbane, Australia, this coming October 31 – November 5. Such an event requires quite a lot of organizational work; recruiting speakers for the business program, preparing the general assembly, managing the trade show, tending to registration matters, and the general marketing of the event. 

Shortly thereafter we will have a seminar in Rome, Italy, on Internet gaming. This seminar will be held in cooperation with the European Lottery Association and will be hosted by Lottomatica. 

After Brisbane, the next convention and trade show will be in 2012. Although this is still two years away it is important that we lay the foundation now. This will be a cooperative effort with NASPL and will be the first time that our major convention will coincide with the major convention of another association. The convention will take place in Montreal, Canada and will be hosted by Loto-Québec. We will have a kick-off meeting with Loto-Québec and NASPL this summer and we look forward to working with them both.

In addition to this our two certification standards, the WLA Responsible Gaming Framework, and the WLA Security Control Standard, require constant attention as more and more members become certified.

How are you preparing for the WLA 2010 Convention and Trade Show?
As I indicated before, such an event requires more than two years preparation. Prior to the WLA 2008 convention in Rhodes, Greece, we had already laid the foundation for the up-coming convention in Brisbane. Tatts Lotteries of Australia, our host for this event has gone to great lengths to ensure the success of the convention and the delegates can look forward to one of the best conventions we have had in years. New technology has aided us greatly in organizing the trade show. For the first time we have implemented an online registration program for suppliers reserving space on the trade show floor.

How many companies are confirmed for the WLA 2010? Who are they?
Already more than forty companies have reserved space on the trade show floor. The industry giants, GTECH, Intralot, Scientific Games and Ace Interactive will be there for sure, as will our other contributors. I am sure the delegates will recognize most of the other exhibitors at the trade show.

How does the World Lottery Association work with Latin American lotteries, companies and institutions? What does this work consist of?
We work closely with CIBELAE in organizing and coordinating events in Latin America. For instance the World Meet last year in Santiago, Chile, organized cooperatively by the WLA and CIBELAE, and hosted by Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, was a great success. Over 400 international delegates, predominately from the Latin American lottery community, were in attendance. Another cooperative effort with CIBELAE took place this year in Acapulco, Mexico. This was a seminar on security and risk management that was hosted by Mexico’s Lotería Nacional para la Asistencia Pública. We greatly value our work with all the regional associations. To that end we have always ensured that each regional association has a representative on our executive committee. Presently, Mr. Roberto Lopez, President of Asociación de Loterías, Quinielas y Casinos Estatales de Argentina (A.L.E.A.) is serving in this capacity for CIBELAE.

How do you see the Latin American market? In your opinion, what regulatory and legal changes are needed in this region?
We recently released a quarterly sales indicator for the different geographical regions in the world. The first quarter of 2010 indicates that Latin America had an increase in sales of 22.6%, by far the best showing globally. So lotteries on the whole are doing quite well in Latin America. As we learned at the World Meet in Santiago last year, the challenges facing Latin America are no different than those that the lotteries in other regions of the world are facing. These challenges are not only at the regulatory and legal level. State lotteries worldwide are facing encroachment by private online gambling firms. In addition, advances in technology have caused all lotteries internationally to take a closer look at the way they do business. Therein lays one of the great values of the World Lottery Association. We provide a platform for the sharing of information and experience between all our members around the globe.

What is WLA Certification? What are its benefits?
Presently we offer two certification programs, the WLA Responsible Gaming Framework (RGF), and the WLA Security Control Standard (SCS), both of which are ultimately designed to protect a lottery's stakeholders as well as ensure a lottery's integrity and the security of its reputation. 

The WLA RGF is based on seven responsible gaming principles that each lottery organization commits to when becoming a WLA member. These seven principles were developed as a comprehensive set of standards related to social responsibility with responsible gaming at its core. In adopting these seven principles WLA members commit to making responsible gaming an integral part of their daily operations. The RGF is designed to help member lotteries achieve this objective. Certification at any level has a validity of three years. This is to keep a lottery's responsible gaming program on a path of continuous improvement. Member lotteries submitting for levels 2 – 4 are certified to the RGF with the help of an independent assessment panel. This panel is comprised of a selection of international experts from the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Through the knowledge and expertise of this panel, the WLA has a reliable and competent partner to aid them in evaluating submissions and to help them render an appropriate decision on certification. The panel also offers submitting lotteries suggestions as to how they can optimize and improve their responsible gaming programs.

The WLA SCS is comprised of a broad set of security controls that requires compliance with the ISO 27001 as well as 24 basic security requirements and 72 lottery-specific requirements designated by the WLA. It specifies the required practices for an effective information security management system and thereby maintains the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of information vital to the secure operation of a lottery. Certification to the SCS facilitates the understanding of security and its importance within your organization from the upper levels of management on down. It demonstrates to stakeholders the integrity of your lottery organization and instills trust in your consumers. The SCS is an internationally recognized standard and is a prerequisite for participation in many multi-jurisdictional games.