Blog

It has been a momentous year for the global lottery community. We turned the page on the pandemic with the resumption of physical meetings which stretched from May to December and were held in Europe, Latin America, Asia, North America and Africa. With high turn outs, experts gathered to discuss and present on important topics such as market trends, illegal betting, sports data management, Corporate Social Responsibility and innovation in a post-COVID world.

As the world continues to be a complex place of interdependent elements with black swans ever more common, lottery professionals from all corners of the world tuned in over the course of two days to hear testimonies and learnings on the topic in the EL WLA Security and Operational Risk Management webinar 2022 entitled “Expect the Unexpected: Black Swans in Security & Risk Management”.

With new entrants in the streaming industry, Netflix has had to adapt to stay competitive by providing subscribers with the best content, such as popular previously released movies and original binge-worthy television shows. In November 2021, Netflix added gaming content to its offerings to attract a broader range of customers. Netflix and other online entertainment providers understand that great content is the driver of success.

They’ve been described as giant spaceships. Six-foot high rolls of paper stock weighing up to 2,000 pounds go in one end, traveling at high speed as layer by layer of coatings are applied—ultimately exiting as vibrant rolls of scratch games, each roll with a retail value of $1 million to $10 million. Sold by 112 lotteries in 47 countries, Scientific Games’ instant products represent 70% of instant game retail sales globally.

Retail environments continue to evolve along with consumer expectations. IGT’s sophisticated, all-new Retailer Vue™ camera-based terminal offers lotteries the flexibility and unique performance features to support a wide range of use-cases today and well into the future.

Over the past five years, a boom in the use of smart devices, improved connectivity, and accelerated digitalization during the global pandemic have changed the way we live, work and play. We carry out more activities online and share more of our lives through different social media platforms.

Illegal betting is a key threat to the integrity of horse racing and other sports at all levels. Over the past few years, a combination of new technologies and the global pandemic have facilitated the rapid growth and evolution of online illegal betting.

Whatever we do online, we leave a digital footprint of personal data. Around the world, masses of data are generated every day, more laws are enforced to protect data privacy and instance of data breeches continues to grow.

Interview with Anne Pattberg, Chair of the WLA Independent Assessment Panel for Responsible Gaming certification

With just a week to go until the World Lottery Summit in Vancouver, we’re looking forward to see you all there and pleased to announce that the WLS 2022 app is available to download at Google Play and the Apple app store.