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In Europe and other parts of the world, the gambling industry is under pressure as regulations become stricter. On the one hand, authorities and regulators are changing the legislation by establishing bans on advertising to protect players and vulnerable groups from abusive bombardment of gambling advertising. On the other, it is believed that operators could suffer if the regulations are too ‘strict’ because this may push players to the grey market. So where do we draw the line and find the right balance?

In the busy city of Chicago, Camelot Illinois operates the Illinois Lottery, bringing to life entertaining games while remaining dedicated to being a responsible operator that truly benefits the people of Illinois.

The world lottery community is a wealth of professional knowledge. As a global association, we see it as our duty to facilitate the sharing of this expertise. With this in mind, the WLA started reaching out to lottery professionals in 2021, to participate in a series of video interviews titled “Voices from the world lottery community: Key opinion leaders”.

On the small island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, one lotto has proven that size does not matter when it comes to meaningful impact. WLA member Lottotech Ltd. committed to its engagement towards the community, and worked on its responsible gaming program, in collaboration with many stakeholders. Its efforts paid off, and it has become the first lottery in the African region to obtain the WLA responsible gaming certification level 2, 3 and then 4 twice.

In the last five years, there has been a boom in online lotteries and sports betting offerings. It is easier than ever to access services and products anytime, anywhere.

A social purpose company exists to make a better world, to be an engine for good, creating social benefits by the very act of conducting business. Its resulting growth is a positive force in society. Each company has a unique purpose and ability to have an impact, and when a company with social ambition prospers, so do all its stakeholders.

Online sports betting is an exciting pastime for many people and a booming industry that continues to grow thanks to the increased use of connected devices and advance of online offerings throughout COVID-19 pandemic, the changing regulatory landscape of the gambling industry, and more sports leagues and events to bet on. A global report by ResearchandMarkets, a research company offering market insights and analysis, expects the global sports betting market size to reach USD 140.26 billion by 2028.

Belgian players have enjoyed eInstants since the end of 2017, when Loterie Nationale of Belgium (LNB) launched a portfolio of approximately 15 IGT casual play style games. Today, the game library has nearly doubled to include 65 games from different providers. Within the new lineup, perennial games like EmotiCollect and Wheel of Fortune® on the Road continue to be player favorites.

The WLA and EL Sports Betting Seminar took place on May 16, in Seville, Spain, with over 120 participants.

Like all industries, lotteries have been starting to adopt cloud services to enable their operations. This represents a great opportunity for the sector to break free from the constraints of the normal technology investment cycles where ten years between significant upgrades is not uncommon. The cloud also presents other opportunities including to increase resilience, burst capacity for big draws or other events and to benefit from the expertise of companies who specialise in running lower layers of the technology stack.