Vice President, Lottery Systems
Iowa Lottery
Hale Strasser’s service to the Iowa Lottery extends over a decade, following previous leadership positions within the Iowa Department of Transportation. As the Iowa Lottery’s primary technology liaison to their gaming system supplier, Hale has been at the forefront of all aspects of business planning operations, including game programming schedules and testing requirements. He oversees the Iowa Lottery’s central gaming system, the information technology personnel and equipment, and key aspects of product, game, and equipment testing. He is a valued member of the Lottery’s leadership team and internal business planning group.
While Hale’s record of accomplishment extends far beyond the current year, there are two primary achievements during the recognition period that are of particular distinction:
The Iowa Lottery’s successful launch of the Powerball Double Play add-on feature on November 5, 2023. The Iowa Lottery opted for a “soft” public launch of the new game in the event of any hiccups at launch. Of course, thanks to the efforts of Hale working with his testing team and counterparts at Scientific Games, there were no such challenges at launch, as his testing protocols produced a successful launch of a product that is adding incremental sales to the Lottery’s bottom line.
The Iowa Lottery and Abacus Solutions “Receipt Print” Integration – The Iowa Lottery will soon be the first American lottery to integrate the Abacus Solutions platform to generate print-on-receipt lotto ticket sales in grocery check-out lanes. Hale is the Iowa Lottery’s point person for this multi-year initiative, but as retail launch of this solution is within sight, he deserves recognition for coordinating the efforts of the Abacus, Scientific Games and Iowa Lottery teams, as well as multiple Point-of-Sale systems providers and corporate retailers.
Hale has repeatedly demonstrated his value as a senior member of the leadership team who understands how underlying technologies spur business and revenue growth. His growth as a leader makes him an excellent fit for the 2024 Powers Award.