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The smart move: Embracing AI in Lottery
With Covid-19 waking up the more traditional lottery operators in the industry to the benefits of offering tickets online, Ade Repcenko, CEO of Spinola Gaming, explains how the digitisation of lotteries can empower operators with a data-driven promotional strategy powered by cost-effective artificial intelligence (AI).
In the past few months, companies which were reluctant to embrace technology were put into a position where they needed to look into ways of reaching their customers digitally. The digital transformation which would have taken the lottery industry another 5 years has been sped up, as companies now realize the importance of being able to reach their players across virtual mediums.
Embracing technology is the difference between looking completely out of touch, or being ahead of the curve. It is vital, especially in today’s market, for lotteries to be accessible and available online using the latest technology, and taking a data and intelligence-led approach is key.
Digitisation brings with it a lot of data. Powerful, rich data that artificial intelligence (AI) can help aggregate, analyse and transform into relevant and understandable data sets that can be used to inform and give insight on players and their preferences.
Harnessing the power of AI in this way helps operators understand their players better and enhances their user experience through analysis and segmentation, creating a real-time personalised experience for each and every player.
Getting a unique and customized service is key to driving customer engagement, satisfaction and ultimate loyalty to the brand. AI-assisted targeted messaging could therefore be used for smarter ad and offer serving to current lottery players. This works by identifying valuable customers based on their ticket purchase habits, and showcasing offers that would be of particular appeal to them. Buy one get one free and other traditional lottery promotions do work, but taking on a personalised real-time digital promotion tactic has proven to work much better, generate a significant ROI, and keep more players active after large jackpots are won.
This has been shown by operators such as Camelot, who through a hyper-targeted campaign, offered every casual Mega Millions player of the Illinois Lottery a free line of Lotto when buying a line of Mega Millions. To be able to offer the promotion, Camelot needed to know a wealth of information to fuel their AI so that it understood players and responded with the right message or promotion at the right time. Thanks to using such a personalised strategy, the players who were offered a free line of Lotto in the hyper-targeted campaign were twice as likely to continue playing after the MegaMillions jackpot was won when compared to a control group, and the campaign delivered an ROI of $8.89 for every $1 invested by the Lottery.
Keeping players active long-term, even outside of huge jackpots is the target of every lottery. AI can help lottery providers achieve this by moving away from generic marketing tactics, and instead adopting a data-driven targeted approach. A prime example of this occurred after Camelot’s $400m Mega Millions Jackpot for the Illinois Lottery was won on June 9, 2020. Active online lottery players in Illinois promptly dropped 22 percent the following week, as is to be expected after a large jackpot is won, however, assisted by AI, the Lottery was able to double active players in the week following the Mega Millions Jackpot win. This specific campaign reportedly achieved an incremental sales rise of over $10 for every $1 invested for the operator.
The lottery market is anticipated to surpass $353.1 billion by 2026, and researchers say that within a few years most customer-brand interactions will be supported by AI technology in some way or other. There is a huge opportunity to use AI to find cost-effective long-term solutions which would support the ultimate growth of the lottery sector.
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SIS and Premier Greyhound Racing reveal improved greyhound race time schedule
Sports Information Services (SIS), the leading multi-content supplier of 24/7 live betting services, and Premier Greyhound Racing (PGR), the media rights company supplier of greyhound racing to the betting industry and direct to viewers, have collaborated to offer a revised race time schedule starting from 20 May.
Designed to protect the long-term future of UK greyhound racing, the new schedule will see morning fixtures start slightly later – moving from 10.47 to 11.01 and 10.54 to 11.09. Additionally, there will also be a slightly later start time for some evening fixtures aimed at a retail audience, with the first evening fixture now starting at 18.08.
Commenting on the improved schedule, Terry Mahoney, Head of Business Development at ARC, said: “The new race times will help make it easier for customers to navigate busy racing schedules as well as improving operations trackside. We will continue to listen, monitor, and adapt schedules where and when needed as we move forward to deliver the best service possible for betting operators as well as punters.”
Paul Witten, Managing Director at SIS, added: “We are passionate about delivering a greyhound racing service that benefits all of the sport’s stakeholders. Together with Premier Greyhound Raxing, we have introduced a revised racing schedule that benefits operators and their customers.
“Our approach to greyhound racing is grounded in sustainability and flexibility. This collaboration with fellow service providers allows everyone to enjoy all the high-quality action produced on a daily basis from tracks across the UK and Ireland.”
SIS has long-term agreements in place with bet365, William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfred to deliver its greyhound content across UK and Irish retail and digital channels. SIS also promotes this content across dozens of leading international operators, as well as through SISRacing.tv.
PGR offers greyhound action, cards, video replays, results, news and info on greyhounds.attheraces.com, and regular live broadcasts on Sky Sports Racing. Premier Greyhound Racing is a joint venture between Arena Racing (ARC) and Entain, the global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment group. Between them, the two companies own nine of the 20 licensed British greyhound tracks and ARC manage the media rights for five independent tracks.
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PRAGMATIC PLAY HITS THE SWEET SPOT WITH FRUITY TREATS
Pragmatic Play, a leading content supplier to the iGaming industry, has added Fruity Treats to its collection of clusters pays Slots.
Five or more fruit symbols must connect horizontally or vertically to award a win in this vibrant 7×7 title, which features a variation of the popular multiplier spots mechanic.
At the start of each spin, four marked spots of different colours take up random positions on the grid. If a win forms over a marked spot, a starting multiplier of 5x, 10x, 15x or 20x (depending on the spot colour) will be activated. Each time a winning combination lands on a marked spot after a tumble, the multiplier is applied to the win and then increases by its starting value.
Hitting at least three candy scatters on a spin awards entry to the bonus game with 10 free spins. During the feature, which can be retriggered with five additional free spins, activated multipliers from marked spots do not reset between free spins, potentially leading to massive wins.
Fruity Treats is the latest cluster pays Slot in Pragmatic Play’s multi-award-winning range, joining recent hit Sugar Rush 1000.
Irina Cornides, Chief Operating Officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “The roaming multiplier spots feature in Fruity Treats sets it apart from other successful cluster pays Slots in the Pragmatic Play portfolio, with marked spots staying sticky in the bonus game for even greater win potential.”
Pragmatic Play currently produces up to eight new Slot titles a month, while also delivering Live Casino and Bingo games as part of its multi-product portfolio, available through a single API.
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Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook returns for fourth year
Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook returns in June with registrations now open for a two-day content series featuring speakers from across the Kambi Group and insights covering the full breadth of the industry.
Taking place between 4-5 June, the Festival will be comprised of online sessions taking in topics ranging from UX optimisation and harnessing AI to maximising a summer of soccer featuring both UEFA Euro 2024 and the Copa América.
Erik Lögdberg, Managing Director of Kambi Sportsbook, will open the Festival with a session entitled ‘Exceptional, everywhere: meeting the increasingly high standards of an evolving market’, discussing how operators can develop their sportsbook to navigate changing consumer habits and fragmenting markets.
Kambi’s Head of Legal and Regulatory Compliance, Victoria Fernandes, will also be joined by Partner Success Manager Sabrina Andrade for a Portuguese language session delving into Brazil and how local operators can compete in the soon-to-be-regulated market.
Gerard Starkey, Kambi Group’s SVP of Marketing & Communications, said: “We are excited to once again be welcoming the industry to Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook, and we look forward to sharing the sportsbook insights and knowledge the event has become known for. As ever, the agenda features a broad range of sessions hosted by experts from across the Kambi Group, providing plenty to interest those working in or with the sports betting industry today.”
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