【高峰论坛】

展望2020年，让彩票游戏之美绽放！

 

 

 

Interview Fernando PAES AFONSO Vice-President Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa

 

 EL News: What was your main reason in inviting the Industry Days to Lisbon?

 

Our main intention was to serve as a wide interests’ platform gathering consistent and sustainable ideas on the kind of innovation we all wish to implement in our Lotteries. We also wanted to show all our colleagues that a country like Portugal, which has been under a 3-year period of financial external aid from the Troika, had the means to host such an event, showing what Santa Casa is capable of and how it stands out in Portuguese society. Lastly we wanted to promote fruitful experience exchanges, involving people in the reflection of what paths must be followed in order to preserve the gaming model we stand for and still stand out in the marketplace.

 

Did the event accomplish its mission and how?

 

We think it did. The working sessions were extremely interesting with presentations promoting very interesting debates and enlightening us on the kind of trends we must count on, the drivers that will help us move forward and the effective innovation we should all strive for.

 

How do you see a benefit for your team as well as any other Lottery teams with this type of event?

 

As mentioned before, the benefit of this kind of seminars to our Lottery teams is the knowledge platform that this kind of technical meetings provides. They are an excellent forum to discuss the latest market trends being aligned with the most innovative technological offers, to have a broadened perspective of the evolution of the retail environment, the means to be used to make our gaming offer attractive and responsible. Our Lottery teams have the chance to add experience and knowledge to their areas by exchanging views and perspectives with their colleagues. These events create added value for us all strengthening the bonds, making us more confident to face the challenges that the new consumers impose upon us, and questioning the importance of our current gaming model. This type of events brings improvement and innovation giving us the chance to renew ourselves as well.

 

 

2020 GAMING : STAND OUT IN THE MARKET PLACE

 

Industry Days reconvened last June, as it has done over the last years to discuss technologies and new games. Welcoming participants in Lisbon, Portugal, the event clearly placed a focus on what Lotteries need to do NOW to maintain their leadership position. The regulatory shift is of serious concern in Europe. In 10 years’ time, the face of that business might be totally different from what we are accustomed to now, and Lotteries must prepare for that transformation. Lotteries and their partners have come to realize the urgency of setting up immediate strategies for the future to ensure, as noted by President Friedrich STICKLER, that in 2020 and beyond, Lotteries can still be able to take care of society.

 

 

 CHANGE NOW FOR FUTURE RESULTS

 

The gaming sector is experiencing challenging times, but it is not a reason to slow down. As Pedro SANTANA LOPES, President of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa in Portugal, says “Lotteries sell beautiful games” and should talk more about it and highlight their social responsibilities and involvement. One way to do it is to be on social networks, which have become so important in everybody’s life. Mr. Lopes warns that such a presence might not yield immediate results, but they will eventually happen.

 

Young entrepreneur, Danny MEKIC, starts with a striking comparison: in the 1930s, companies were expected to survive for at least 90 years, nowadays, the lifespan is only 18 years - thus to keep growing, one must constantly improve, reinvent and find new targets. Then, there is the new consumer: Used to a technology that can change practically overnight, he/she wants a fun but economical experience. Innovation is something that might change their lives: this is where Lotteries could shine by emphasising beautiful, fun and easy content instead of focusing on money – a boring concept for young people who prefer to enjoy life rather than make a lot of money to impress others. Social media is the best way to approach these potential con- sumers, but a digital strategy must include Webcare (or know the dreams of people). On social media, you cannot buy the crowd, but you can bring interest for the crowd to answer and like: the gamification of real experiences (i.e. the case of Budweiser’s strategy based on tweeting at Happy Hour to extend that experience in bars), will pleasantly surprise consumers. So it is essential to place the young generation predominantly in a business strategy. Big data is the in-word, but few companies use it correctly: Mekic’s recommendation to Lotteries - focus on small data, know the dreams of each of your customers.

 

 TODAY AND TOMORROW

 

The discussions about new technology also showed the challenges. Being a billion-dollar market is one of them, notes Jim KENNEDY, EVP, Group Chief Executive Lottery - SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION, so work must be done in a scaled world. For Ioannis PANTOLEON, Group Chief Operating Officer – INTRALOT GROUP, technology will help face the challenges and there is an urgent need to address online offers. Connie LAVERTY O’CONNOR, Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer – GTECH CORPORATION, reminds people that the business of selling tickets for good causes is growing and meeting budgets is as important as responding to customers’ wishes. Good content, respect of regulations and stronger partnerships between Lotteries and suppliers, will allow better performance. Innovation might be slow in coming, but Lotteries must continue to offer a whole slate of services/products to be totally ready for what’s coming in the future. There is space for growing traditional games but obviously the major investment now is in digital.

 

Taking a look at what is being done today, the panels considered that leveraging the new media and building a strategy for greater player engagement should provide the right balance between adding value to the players and pleasing the regulators. For Martyn BAXTER, Head of Instants of Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd, digital platforms must emphasise fun plays, a concept echoed by Rhydian FISHER, CEO of Instant Win Gaming Ltd. The entertainment factor is really important and existing games could regularly propose new trends such as a near-win experience to encourage players to come back again, presenting added value. Pam LEE, VP, Linked Games – MDI, proves the added value of 2nd chance games that extend the play opportunities of a losing ticket. The main difficulty with digital lottery lies in finding as many people as possible to play without over stimulating the market. After all, Lotteries must abide by the state regulations and game mechanics must be adapted to each jurisdiction with a system in place to ensure responsible gaming behaviour.

 

 Beyond shifting consumers’ attitude, the latest regulations in Europe are changing Lotteries’ traditional operating practice. Organisations must now compete in a world of open markets. The consumer is now in charge and, explains Eurico NOBRE, CEO of Ogilvy- One in Portugal, companies must connect with him/ her to maintain the brand’s reputation and longevity. The key to success is therefore to understand a consumer’s journey and digital technology allows for creative communication with today’s consumer. Dermot GRIFFIN, CEO of National Lottery Ireland, concurs that technological investment is needed to address the online challenge and to adequately create a great experience for the consumers as well as retailers. The whole consumer experience, through involving and sharing, must be part of any new digital Lottery strategies in order to maximise the entertainment value for players, adds Antonis DIMOS, Deputy General Director at INTRALOT Interactive.

 

Changing behaviour is a necessary step and being authentic is essential; for Arjan VAN’T VEER, Member of the Board of Nederlandse Staatsloterij, it is better to improve the existing offer than totally reshaping it – disruptive innovation should be reserved for other departments. The problem for Heinz-Georg SUNDERMANN, Managing Director of LOTTO Hessen, Germany, rests with over-regulating, which impedes State Lotteries from trying something new. One direction showing promise for the future is multi-jurisdiction games with wider collaboration between Lotteries across borders.

 

To drive growth across all channels, Lotteries representatives made a strong case for the skills and digital technology they already have in place and the advantages of partnerships with suppliers. SAZKA’s objective, said Robert CHVÁTAL, CEO & Member of the Board, is “innovate now.” The latest draw-based game uses the player’s mobile phone number as a lottery ticket: very appealing to young players. An- other innovation is the Penny Market, a quick-pick style game merchandised at cash registers. The pace of interaction needs to follow the pace of the market. In Norway, Norsk Tipping has launched 65 new games capable of satisfying both young and old consumers. The Lottery’s online presence is good but explained Jan Peder STRØMSLID, EVP Communication & Strategy - Norsk Tipping, there is more to be done with interactive games and social media. The Lottery strongly relies on partnerships with suppliers to find quick solutions to a lot of digital issues.

 

The experience in Belgium is slightly different as Arnaud HERMESSE, Director of Sales of the Belgium National Lottery comments on the negative evolution of products in many points of sale. The Lottery’s efforts have been to target the retail environment with an improved merchandising display of lottery games at cash registers, which are in direct competition with an array of other products. For Belgium National Lottery, the urgent innovation is in retail environment; implementation of VLTs is in the works and in the future game offer for smartphones. In Poland, existing retailers help the core business by increasing lottery awareness with better floor marketing, on shopping carts and around cash registers. “Innovation, says Wojciech SZPIL, CEO of Totalizator Sportowy Sp. Z.o.o., is more than a new game, it is a vision.” Evolution also is about changes inside a company – soon to be implemented.

 

GAMIFICATION AND INNOVATION

 

Addressing the phenomenon of new media and their possible application in the Lottery industry, Philip TAN, Creative Director of MIT Game Lab in the US, gives surprising statistics. In the US, 68% of games are played on PC and 33% of mobile gamers are women. Smartphones’ offer of free-to-play and premium (pay) games is a market of over 11 billion dollars. Top games are the ones that can be downloaded for free but require real money spent inside the game. The play expectations are labour (progress in a game by playing more hours) and skill (with consistent practice, you will progress in a game). These games are articulated around specific social motivations, says Tan, citing the description of Scot Osterweil of MIT of the “4 Freedoms of Play”: Freedom to experiment, freedom to fail, freedom of identity and freedom of effort. Luck is not part of the equation – it’s all about social experience, where losing can be fun and failure is more rewarding than winning - A concept seen in 2nd chance games, but one that Lotteries could further develop.

 

Gamification, for Pedro DO CARMO COSTA, Director and Co-founder of Exago – UK, is all about engagement. Access to an enormous amount of information has given consumers the power to decide; new entrants with no legacy costs and no regard for rules, consolidation among companies and purchase globalization are among the factors that created a saturated market. His recommendations to Lotteries: innovate or become irrelevant, add benefits for the consumer in each product, ride emerging trends, leverage unique competencies and address consumer unvoiced needs, but also use gamification of day-to-day (boring) activities to engage all personnel. Andy DUNCAN, Managing Director of Camelot Group – UK, recognises that Lotteries need first to improve what is being done at the present time. Innovation will support growth but it should be implemented without taking unnecessary risks. Wojciech Szpil is interested in defining the goal of where to be in the future and then implementing it through technology innovation and internal changes.

 

And then the fun began: Ray BATES, Moderator and EL Honorary President, orchestrated a very exciting interactive session. Using an app accessible on mobile phones, the audience was pulled together to answer a series of questions and make choices related to the parameters for an instant game. A few minutes later and after entering the average answers, the final ticket was designed and the first crowd sourced instant game came to life. The audience loved the interaction and the final product.

 

legal issu es at st ake for European Lott ery organisations

 

Philippe VLAEMMINCK, EL Legal Advisor and Bart VAN VOOREN, Professor in EU Law, talked about the tectonic shifts in the EU policy. Lotteries are being faced with major legal threats such as infringement procedures or the “soft” legal recommendations by the Commission, which de facto harmonise gambling at EU level - according to the CJEU, as long as there is no harmonisation, Member States remain free in their national policies – this will change with these recommendations. What can be done? For one, use the Conclusions of the Council of December 2010 on gambling, recognising that Lotteries play an important role in the funding of good causes, directly or indirectly; Build on CJEU and AG statements that unbridled competition in gambling is not desirable; working towards the recognition by the Court of Justice of the existence of an “EU Public Order” as an equivalent to free movement principles, so that future legislative initiatives must take into account the special position of Lotteries working for the benefit of society.

 

 Sharing and innovating were among the major topics of Industry Days. Changes have to be implemented for a sustainable future in a highly competitive gaming world, but the approach might differ on how to apply or when to bring in these changes. Though, there was consensus about the implementation of digital technology, mobile games and social media. Also during the seminar, Birgitta KERVINEN, President of ENGSO, was invited to say a few words about another important topic: the situation of sport activities. Highlighting the involvement of ENGSO with many European sport federations and its cooperation with the Council of Europe, she also reminded the audience of ENGSO’s commitment for better collaboration with Lotteries, and the fight for sports integrity and against match fixing. Cooperation among all concerned parties will bring positive changes in the sport movement, concluded Kervinen.

 

 

EL NEWS INTERVIEWS

 

Philippe VLAEMMINCK EL Legal Advisor

 

EL News: At the Industry Days in Lisbon, you presented the future challenges for Lotteries in the EU legal field. With a new President at the helm of the EU Commission who tends to favour a limitation of Member States’ powers, do you anticipate a repercussion on Lotteries?

 

The composition of the EU Commission is of course important, but the debate is amongst the various institutions, whereby the European Parliament plays an important role, but certainly and maybe even more, also the Council. One should not forget that it was the Council that unanimously adopted in December 2010 conclusions stating that the specific role of Lotteries needs to be recognised in all future actions at EU level. Such Council conclusions are providing a binding interpretation for the EU Commission. While the EU Commission is the guardian of the Treaties, the Member States are the masters of the Treaties. The view of the States meeting in the Council is extremely important. Also the Court of Justice plays a big role and has been quite supportive for Lotteries.

 

Per your experience, do you get the impression that Lottery executives really have a clear sense of the legal consequences for their own organisations? Are they doing enough to help EL in Brussels and what actions should they take to improve the industry’s image in Brussels?

 

Long before EL was in Brussels, several Lotteries were already active in the EU debate at various levels. Some of them continue to work together with their government in the Court of Justice, the Council and the expert groups. It is extremely important to continue this work and to convince other Lotteries to do the same. Participating actively (as Belgium and Portugal do through their Lotteries) in all the cases at the Court of Justice of the EU by making written observations is a priority. The Court always listens carefully to what the Member States have to say. The position of the states is helping the Court to make the exact findings. Educating the gaming regulator is equally important. Regulators have extensive knowledge of gaming law, but do very often misunderstand EU law. They do not understand the mechanism of the EU Internal Market. You do not need to adopt formal directives to harmonise the various markets and create a single market. If de facto every state agrees to apply the same rules regarding consumer protection, the result is the same as with harmonisation. The same applies to the infringement cases. What the EU Commission pretends is not always legally right. The issues at stake, like server location, etc., are important questions. EU law has no clear-cut answers for this. So regulators should be more confident in that they can win these cases. So in addition to EL, Lotteries can do a lot in the Council and European Parliament, in the Court of Justice and internally by helping the regulators.

 

With the EU focused on gaining more power to the detriment of States and having an open gaming market, how do you see the evolution of the European lottery world? Monopoly might become obsolete: Could you picture for us the “NEXT” Lottery Model?

 

I do not belong to the people who believe that the Lottery monopoly will be obsolete. On the contrary, I would not be surprised if, one day, governments reinvent the benefits of the Lottery monopoly. Our new EU legal strategy is precisely aiming at getting the societal role of Lotteries recognised at a higher level. In various states around the world the Lottery model is protected by the Constitution. It is the case in various US states, in India and in Switzerland. In the EU, it is part of the common (constitutional or legal) traditions of the states where the EU is built upon. We talk about Unity in Diversity. The same high-level principles are defining the societal role of Lottery in the states, but applied in different ways. Lotteries are not normal economic activities and, contrary to other activities, competition does not bring any benefit in this area. The Court of Justice (and its advocates general) has been repeating this since 1992 and still says it explicitly today in its judgments. The Lottery monopoly, as it stands today responding in a moderate way to ever-changing technological challenges and societal needs, is the best model for the Future!