A series of breakout sessions covered topics such as retail partnerships, digital development, responsible gambling, cyber threats, experiential prizes, generational marketing, and artificial intelligence.
By Patricia McQueen
With additional reporting by Mackenzie Whitacre and Denise Lechak (NASPL), Andrea Collette and Sonja Bechel (Missouri Lottery), and speakers Rob Wesley and Abby Morgan.
Published October 17, 2024
While much of the NASPL Annual Conference is always about insightful general sessions, awards and networking, a series of breakout sessions provide deep dives into relevant operational topics of the day. Thanks to a lot of teamwork, we offer brief summaries of the seven breakout sessions offered at NASPL 2024.
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Forging Relationships: Strengthening Connections With Retail Partners
Jennifer Bach, MFA Oil Company; Jennifer Boyd, Riverside Red X; Kristen Dawson, Cosentino’s Food Stores; David McLaughlin, Missouri Lottery.
A panel featuring some of Missouri’s retail leaders explored the crucial role that lottery sales play in their operations. They emphasized that lottery products help drive foot traffic, encourage impulse buys, and enhance customer service by creating more of a “one-stop-shop.” The buzz surrounding jackpot games serves as a significant promotional tool, further attracting customers to their stores.
Participants also highlighted some of the challenges retailers face, such as low profit margins, high employee turnover, and the need for properly trained staff to sell games and assist customers, particularly during large jackpots. They all agreed that training is key; one of the c-store chains represented has even introduced a training center to help onboard staff. However, opportunities abound as well, from using QR codes to streamline customer interaction to leveraging lottery promotions tied to store events and anniversaries. Vending and self-service terminals also offer additional touchpoints, help minimize lines and congestion, and allow customers to play at any time, even if the lottery counter is closed.
Lastly, the discussion touched on in-store POS strategies and new game rollouts. Effective signage, lottery promotions, and proactive efforts by lottery reps play a vital role in driving sales. The speakers emphasized the importance of early retailer education and enthusiasm for new games, supported by tools like planograms and incentives, to ensure smooth activations and continued success.
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Creating a Winning Digital Program
Rob Wesley, Aristocrat Interactive
Calling on his years of experience developing the Virginia Lottery’s digital program, Wesley noted that the lottery industry is navigating through significant challenges, including stagnant instant ticket sales, jackpot fatigue, and rising competition from new entrants like courier systems. Meanwhile, gaining approval for iLottery – a crucial component for digital transformation – is often a long and complex process. But what happens if you don’t have iLottery yet? How can your retail business grow amidst these challenges?
A key strategy is to focus on building a strong digital program that enhances retail experiences. Start by developing a robust player database and increasing player engagement through optimized loyalty programs. The goal is to gain new insights into your players in a way that you never have before, going beyond the traditional retail approach.
An effective digital program leverages omnichannel strategies to maximize all touchpoints, ultimately providing a single, comprehensive view of each player. By utilizing automation for personalization and segmentation, lotteries can create timely, relevant and enticing communications across different channels. A/B testing can further refine these strategies to determine what works best.
Incorporating features like mobile ticket cashing and fostering an integrated digital ecosystem are just a few ways to get creative. Even without iLottery, digital initiatives can modernize and grow the retail business, helping lotteries stay competitive and ready for the future.
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Lotteries & VSE: Elements Needed to Launch a Successful Program
Jonathan Aiwazian, idPair (National VSE Program Provider); Gretchen Corbin, Georgia Lottery; Marlene Warner, Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health; Angela Wong, Gaming Labs International. Moderator: Andrew White, NASPL
Participants discussed voluntary self-exclusions programs, including the development of the National Voluntary Self Exclusion Program. With his company leading the way, Aiwazian’s goal is to create a single place to self-exclude for those who are facing challenges in controlling their urge to gamble from all facets of gaming. He explained the mechanics of the NVSEP, which anonymously analyzes gambling data for an in-depth look at gambling behaviors, trends and patterns. The goal is to create a safer gambling environment for all. One of the biggest challenges with implementing this program is getting a lot of stakeholders on the same page; Aiwazian is hoping to get in front of as many state legislators, regulators and gaming commissions as possible to demonstrate the software and how it works. There are currently four participating states: California, Colorado, Iowa and Michigan.
Warner discussed the efforts to establish a VSE program in Massachusetts. The state’s three casinos have on-site teams that are solely focused on patrons that have gambling problems, as well as promoting VSE. They will spend time with patrons to understand and connect with them, and provide them with different resources such as legal services, financial resources, etc. Thousands of players are helped every month through these efforts. Warner’s goal is to create a program that will get everyone on the same page throughout the New England states.
Corbin addressed some of the responsible gambling efforts in Georgia, where they are studying their marketing program. She does think that the “Play Responsibly” tagline at the end of all lottery commercials is an important piece that makes a difference. She also noted some current goals, including providing improved retailer training in the area of RG, and with iLottery popular in the state, focusing on VSE for registered players.
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Cyber Attacks: How to Manage the Unimaginable
Kyle Neuberger, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Neuberger outlined numerous aspects of cyber threats – who the actors are and what their goals are, what some of the most common threats are, and best practices to protect organizations. He encouraged lotteries to reach out to their local FBI field office to build relationships before anything happens, obtain guidance, and of course to report any incidents that may occur.
He outlined the common purposes of cyber threats, from either criminal actors or nation-state actors: Hacktivism (furthering political or social causes), crime, insiders (stealing proprietary information), espionage, terrorism and warfare. The most common criminal cyber threats reported to the FBI come from email compromises, with techniques including password compromises, domain spoofing and customer-compromised accounts. And when it comes to ransomware, the FBI advises companies not to pay ransoms.
Key best practices to limit vulnerabilities include using two-factor (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) for ALL accounts and using passwords with 12-15 characters at a minimum, with upper- and lower-case letters, symbols and numbers. He demonstrated that the strongest passwords are very long phrases (30 or 40 characters) with letters only; adding a symbol or two would make such a password almost uncrackable. App-based MFA is more secure than text-based MFA. Whatever strategies a company uses, it’s critically important to get all employees on the same page!
Neuberger recommended the website virustotal.com to check both domains and any file you might want to download (including images) to see if they are malicious.
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Experiential Prizes in Promotions: How to Be Profitable and Successful
Mickey Boardman, Maine Lottery; Paul Guziel, Alchemy3; Derek Gwaltney, Atlas Experiences. Moderator: Alec Thomson, Arizona Lottery
While cash is king for lottery prizes in general, when a lottery wants to attract new players, experiences can be just the ticket.
Panelists went into great detail about building promotions using prizes that offer players experiences that they could never get on their own. One of the key takeaways was that there is no one size fits all solution – some lotteries rely more on vendors than others do, and smaller promotions and experiences can be just as impactful to a local audience as larger, multi-state promotions. Even more, in fact, because they can bring together a number of people from the same general area who all have the same interests.
Of critical importance of any experiential promotion is keeping player engagement going from the moment it is announced through the actual experience and even beyond. That’s due to the typically long timeframe involved. One way to do that is to spread out any drawings for entries or cash. Another is to grab the interest of local media, who may not care anymore about $1 million winners. “They WILL cover the experiences,” emphasized Boardman. “We’re not just marketing prizes – experiences are an extension of our brand.”
It is also important to build in options to win cash during the experience itself – drawings at an event, for example. It’s one of the prime motivators to enter a promotion in the first place.
When asked about their favorite experiences, Boardman gave the example of a Maine Lottery promotion that was done on its own. It brought some 4,000 people to a local civic center, with all sorts of games and a $2 million prize drawing. “People will remember, and we’ve changed peoples’ lives.” For Guziel, hands down it was the Power Cruises. “There was so much to those, and they had additional chances to win throughout; it’s critical to provide more winning experiences.” Gwaltney is excited about one of his company’s latest promotions, an exclusive opportunity to visit Ireland and its historic Clontarf Castle.
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Marketing to All Generations
Ashley Carel, Missouri Lottery; James Hutchinson, Georgia Lottery; Tomer Imber, Optimove; Jessie Teague, Kentucky Lottery
This session was all about how to reach and engage everyone from Gen Z to Baby Boomers, with strategies to get through all the noise in a new, digital landscape. Participants emphasized the need to understand the differences in generations when designing marketing programs:
Gen Z - digital natives who appreciate diversity and social responsibility
Millennials - prioritize convenience and are the key demographic for lottery
Gen X - old school, with more brand loyalty
Baby Boomers - familiar with traditional lottery formats and value print/radio/media ads; reluctant to embrace digital
It was noted that younger demographics don’t find paper tickets overly appealing, and even digital games need to be “cool” in order to attract interest from younger adult players. And while iLottery may attract a slightly younger demographic, those attracted to digital play are still primarily your core player groups.
Influencer marketing has proven effective in Kentucky; younger generations trust influencers more than they trust brands. Georgia puts a lot of emphasis on partnerships with colleges; it’s a great way to build relationships. Sports sponsorships are also a great way to connect to brands that typically have a younger fan base.
Thoughts on the future of lottery marketing:
Create better games.
Try to get lottery products mentioned in a retailer’s customer group.
Life habits have changed – are people even going into stores anymore? Players may never have the chance to see your product if it is only available in physical format.
Mobile and digital first; people get most information from their phone, not billboards or print materials.
Provide more reasons to join a player’s club; loyalty clubs are going to become even more relevant so we can get to know our players better, including how they prefer messaging.
Marketing will get more hyper-personalized. AI could be used to create customized messages to different generations.
We really need to watch trends. People tell you how they like to be targeted. “Don’t sell me something, become a part of my life.”
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AI: How Will It Impact Lottery?
Abby Morgan, Oklahoma Lottery
The use of AI in the lottery industry shouldn’t be intimidating, as many AI tools are designed to be user-friendly and easy to implement. You don’t need to be a tech expert to start incorporating AI into your workflow. In fact, many platforms offer intuitive interfaces and built-in functionalities that automate tasks with just a few clicks. From AI-powered analytics dashboards to automated content creation tools, these solutions are often plug-and-play, requiring minimal setup and training. By starting with small applications like chatbots or email campaign optimizers, marketing teams can gradually integrate AI into their strategies without feeling overwhelmed, making it easier to see its benefits and expand its use over time.
With all of the advancements in AI technology, teams can greatly benefit from incorporating it into their daily operations. AI can streamline routine tasks like content creation, customer segmentation, and data analysis, allowing teams to focus more on strategic planning rather than manual, time-consuming processes. By automating repetitive tasks such as email marketing, social media scheduling, and ad targeting, companies can reduce operational costs and reallocate resources toward high-impact projects. Additionally, AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, providing actionable insights without the need for extensive human intervention, which further drives efficiency.
Another advantage of using AI in marketing is the ability to deliver highly customized content. AI can analyze consumer behavior, preferences and interactions to create tailored content and recommendations, improving engagement and conversion rates. This level of customization would be difficult and costly to achieve manually but becomes scalable with AI. From personalized email campaigns to dynamic website content, marketing teams can create meaningful customer journeys that resonate more deeply with audiences, leading to better ROI. Ultimately, leveraging AI not only reduces operational costs but also enables marketers to create more impactful, data-driven strategies that improve both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
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