COVID-19 has caused significant issues in many sectors, but the Lottery industry has proved to be resilient. Many with interactive offerings have seen tremendous category growth even during the pandemic’s height. As recounted in the July/August 2020 issue of Public Gaming International, “the long-term strategic planning of both lotteries and their well-timed choice to focus more on the digital channel at the beginning of 2020 resulted in positive momentum and a strong first half of 2020.” How have U.S. lotteries applied the digital advantage?
The Kentucky Lottery, the Georgia Lottery Corporation, and the Rhode Island Lottery have leveraged PlayLottery solutions from IGT PlayDigital team with strong positive results. In particular, all three are powered by the IGT PlayCommand, which enables lotteries to control all administrative functions of the player journey, including payments, marketing campaign management, Responsible Gaming controls, and more. The platform is supported by IGT’s digital marketing experts, who help lotteries achieve growth with reporting and analytics tools to turn data into actionable insights.
The Georgia Lottery Corporation
Prior to the pandemic, the Georgia Lottery had plans to upgrade its digital platform and work with IGT PlayLottery staff to increase marketing support. This resulted in March-May year-over-year increases of 155% in traditional draw-based games, 115% in digital Keno, and 330% in Georgia’s e-instants brand, Diggi Games. From new games and effective promotions to back-end system upgrades and loyalty campaigns, the collaboration between IGT and the Lottery was instrumental to the programs’ successes.
The Kentucky Lottery
The Kentucky Lottery had also begun to redirect its focus on iLottery, having launched new Instant Play games offering higher prize payouts. This increased player value has resulted in a 37% year-to-date increase in mid-March and 57% by end of May, made up of a 60% lift in digital draw-based games sales and a 260% lift in their Instant Play sales. A new mobile wagering app, provided by IGT, has helped to help expand functionality and continue to serve their players with value, ease of use, and entertainment.
The Rhode Island Lottery
The Rhode Island Lottery launched a new iLottery solution which modernizes the Lottery experience for players, allowing them to play Keno and e-instant games from their mobile devices. The solution includes a digital wallet, where winners can have winnings within a set threshold automatically transferred into their accounts. IGT worked closely with the Lottery in order to deliver the solution in just five months.
The challenge of evolving to meet the changing needs of players is constant, and digital is more crucial than ever. IGT looks forward to working with additional lotteries to find future success in the iLottery category.
For questions and more information about IGT PlayDigital Lottery, email playdigital@igt.com
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