Looking back at ICE 2016: How to achieve digital success for lotteries?

Developing a digital proposition will not cannibalize retail channel sales in the lottery sector, according to Neil Brocklehurst, director of European business, Camelot Global, who was one of five expert speakers on an Omni-Channel Lottery Forum at ICE Totally Gaming.

“Even in mature markets, you don’t have to grow digital at the expense of retail. The two can grow together,” he said.

Jari Vahanen, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Veikkaus Oy made a similar point during a session entitled Reimagining Lotteries for the Digital Age:

“We have managed to keep our retail sales at the same level over the past ten to fifteen years, although retail now only accounts for 45% of total sales as a proportion,” he said.

“My main piece of advice would be to let your customer decide what they are going to do. […] You should offer services to them on mobiles and tablets, but you shouldn’t try to move your customers from retail.”

“Certain players prefer retail and prefer to be anonymous. Some people don’t want to take up a digital account,” Brocklehurst also said.

Another notable moment came when Scientific Games took home the 2016 “Lottery Supplier of the Year” award for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, Harrie Temmink, Deputy Head of the Public Interest Services Unit at DG Internal Market, European Commission, told his audience at a regulatory briefing that the EC had no interest whatsoever in introducing harmonization in the gambling or lottery sectors, stating that such an attempt would amount to political “suicide.”