特别报道：乐透数字型游戏的现状与未来

Special Report: Terminal-Based Games

Although they have lost market share to instant games, there is no shortage of new ideas for terminal-based games.

Lottery and lotto have long been synonymous terms, especially to the public and in the general media. Certainly, the lure of lotto – that big, life-changing prize, is what lotteries are best known for. But of course, that’s not what they are all about.

Instead, lotteries are tasked with creating a portfolio of games that will see them through good times and not-so-good times, through big jackpot rolls and through jackpot droughts. After all, it is all based on the luck of the draw, which no one can predict.

American lotteries seem to have the neverending search for new games down pat – at least with respect to instant tickets. Terminal-based games are another story. As the mega-jackpot games continue to raise the bar with staggering prizes, it becomes harder and harder to trigger sales at lower levels. Lotteries are indeed victims of their own success.

But never let it be said that there aren’t any great ideas out there for terminal-based games. Nothing will ever come along to supplant the general concept of big jackpot lotto – after all, that’s what the general public, and the media, expect from their lotteries. In this report, we’ll review recent trends in terminal-based games and examine promising new developments that will help position lotteries for sustainable growth.   【全文】

Ten-Year Trends

American lotteries generated $60.8 billion in sales during fiscal 2012, including traditional games only (excluding video lotteries and other casino-style games). That number marks a $21.9 billion, 56 percent increase since fiscal 2002. During this ten-year period, total sales of terminal-based games grew by $4.7 billion, or 23.4 percent. However, that performance pales compared to the combined instant/ pulltab category, which saw sales grow by more than $17.1 billion, almost doubling.   【全文】

Canadian Trends

The picture is quite different in Canada. There, instant games and pulltabs now account for just 28 percent of sales, compared to 59 percent in the U.S. And their share of total traditional lottery sales in Canada have actually declined in the past decade, down from almost 34 percent in fiscal 2002 to 28 percent in fiscal 2012.  【全文】

Regional Progress

In the U.S., regional games trace back to 1985 with the formation of the Tri-State Lotto Commission, made up of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The group has offered numerous terminal-based games since its first game Megabucks. Over the years, many other regional collaborations have also been proximity-based – groupings of lotteries sharing borders or other demographic or cultural characteristics.  【全文】

New Game Developments

As noted earlier, there is no shortage of new ideas for terminal-based games coming out in the industry. The challenge is to find games that the public will embrace. But it may be that lotteries need to change their expectations – rather than hoping to find a game with long-term appeal, like the traditional lotto and daily numbers games already out there, they need to realize that life cycles are shorter.  【全文】

The Future of Terminal-Based Games

While there are clearly a lot of new ideas out there, and some have already proven successful, experts advise to not forget some of the core games in a lottery’s portfolio. “Successful terminal-based games of the future will continue to be games such as Powerball and Mega Millions, with their life changing jackpots, and Pick 3 and Pick 4 with their nostalgic elements and traditional game play,” said GTECH’s Simpkins. “It will be imperative for the industry to never underestimate the strength of these products and to continue to support them with product extensions, by increasing convenience by offering them on new channels and by potentially drawing them more frequently.”  【全文】