Mobile Lottery: the emergence of a new business model

Anny Tzivanaki believes lotteries have unique opprtunity to transform their businesses with the adoption of new technologies

Here’s a few stats: mobile web will overtake the desktop in less than five years. Usage and adoption of mobile web is growing at a much faster rate than the desktop ever did. Mobile subscribers are growing four times faster than the global population is. Global mobile GGR in gaming is estimated to surpass €10bn in 2015. In three years, global mobile business will be more than 40 per cent of the overall online gaming business.

Dot.com operators have already achieved that final feat but the prospect of all operators - including lotteries - achieving it, is of immense importance.

Introducing mobile technology in your business is not simply a case of embracing the merits of another form of new technological evolution. Mobile presents a fundamental shift in the way we conduct business, by significantly improving the way that we interact with our customers.

The traditional “transactional approach” is now replaced with an “exciting experience approach”. The user experience is now the winning factor and those organisations that will be able to define the components of success of this user journey, will stand out and excel in the competitive landscape.

Experience is a wide term, and especially when gaming is the primary consumption product. Players understand and appreciate concepts of being educated and informed in their gaming options, achieving excitement through the progress of the game, sharing their choices and expectations with friends and creating a story that is worth sharing for its resulting fun and social contribution.

Lotteries have a unique opportunity. They can to capitalize on this wave and redefine the way their traditional business is conducted. Their products are known for their social contribution dimensions, the publicity that their winners achieve, and the dream which is associated with the winning process. Injecting the new mobile business model, to allow expansion to new demographics but also enhancing the lottery experience will become a key pillar of the strategic directives for the years to come.

Buying a lottery ticket is not any more a single transaction point defined as selecting a set of numbers, and buying for the right to participate in the upcoming draws. It is beyond that and foremost a joyful game, where the choices of the player selection have a direct significance with the player’s life. The method of interaction is based on the multi-touch gestures that we all know from our every daily transactions with our mobile and tablets, which provides a multilayer information presentation.

The mobile is an ideal distribution channel for online and offline businesses. At Intralot we have been working on both directions for some time now. As we all experience mobile phones as multi-functional devices that serve to browse on the go, but also as a wallet, directory and location aid. Using web technology then for a multitude of applications is irrelevant to the actual field where the service is to be offered. A player can make a payment or a wager and complete the transaction via QR code by scanning it in the retail shop, or can register to the online lottery mobile site, sign in, deposit and play on the spot.

For us, the latest technology adopted and a structure that allows customization of solutions has resulted in products that can comply with any licensing requirements. The business model proposed to our partners is based then around first increasing accessibility, second adding features to existing or new products; third approaching the players on their own terms.

The Journey has just started and we will experience significant shifts in the way that traditional lottery business is conducted. There are very exciting times ahead, with technology enabling the transformation of traditional businesses and allowing more flexible, user-driven business models to be realized.

Anny Tzivanaki is head of operations at Intralot Interactive.

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