A Conversation With Lynne Roiter

NASPL Insights Online

Published September 9, 2025

For 40 years Lynne Roiter has been a major player on the Canadian and international lottery stages. She started normally enough, heading the legal department at Loto-Québec in 1985 and facilitating the organization’s first ventures into sports betting. She became instrumental in Loto-Québec’s continued expansion, and that legal background never failed her – she loved finding legal solutions to business problems.

She grew as the organization grew, ultimately becoming President and CEO in 2016. By that time, Loto-Québec was one of the most accomplished lottery and gaming businesses in the world, operating lottery games, sports betting, a video lottery network, casinos, online gaming, networked bingo, and even joint ventures for its hotel-casinos.

ADVERTISEMENT

It was Lynne’s dream job in an industry that was founded on dreams. Remarkably, it was made even better with her participation in the international lottery community. With Loto-Québec being the secretariat of the Association Internationale de Loteries d’Etat (AILE), one of two global lottery associations at the time (the other was Intertoto), she served as AILE’s Secretary General. In that capacity, she played a key role in the 1999 merger of AILE and Intertoto that created the World Lottery Association. She has served as Secretary General of the WLA since the beginning, and is retiring at the end of this year. She had already retired in 2021 from her leadership role at Loto-Québec.

Trying to summarize Lynne’s life in a few words is all but impossible, but she recently had a conversation with Insights editor Patricia McQueen to talk about some of the highlights.

Thinking back, what stands out from your earliest days at Loto-Québec?

What really comes to mind was that even back then, our team was concerned about the lottery industry’s “aging population.” In my first weeks, I heard a marketing presentation about the aging population, and how younger adults were not buying lottery tickets. They were concerned that the primary age group for lottery purchases was 35 to 60 or 65, and as they died off, there could be a big problem. Remember this was in 1985, and we are now 40 years later and still voicing the same concerns. Clearly, we always need to be aware of the challenges of attracting the next generations of lottery players. But perhaps the industry doesn’t give itself enough credit for its ability to be resilient, to adapt and make changes.

What has kept the lottery industry vibrant is the ability to identify trends and what attracts each new generation to the games. Technology has certainly been a major influence, with the addition of online lottery sales and the ability to play on their phone. Younger adults may be brought in by new and exciting games, but they may evolve to participate in the more traditional games as well.

Yet perhaps even more important, lotteries are unique in the gaming industry in that profits are dedicated to good causes. With each new generation, supporting good causes has become increasingly important, and lotteries are well-positioned to address their concerns. “Giving back” is the hallmark of the lottery industry, from sending lottery proceeds to one or more causes to employees who go above and beyond to assist their communities. Today’s younger generations need to see that social responsibility before embracing any company or its products.

The bottom line is that I hope that today’s lottery employees have the confidence to see that the industry is still strong and has adapted, while staying true to its core values of providing entertaining games, sending all profits to good causes, and supporting local business, all while encouraging responsible play. Strengthening our broad player base is how we stay sustainable.

ADVERTISEMENT

What do you consider a big challenge for lotteries these days?

You really can’t deny that the biggest new challenge is illegal gambling. There was always illegal gambling, of course – remember the old days when we’d get solicitations in the mail or see advertisements in magazines to buy lottery tickets from other jurisdictions? In my early years at Loto-Québec, I remember sending a cease and desist letter to one of those major magazines telling them that advertising foreign lottery products was illegal in Canada. They had to recall all their editions because of that!

It’s completely different now because of technology and the internet, and that’s what makes it a huge “new” challenge. Yet the lottery industry has usually managed to overcome the challenges of illegal gambling and remain strong. We’ve seen recent examples of lotteries successfully addressing the proliferation of illegal sweepstakes games by making the case in front of policymakers in their jurisdiction and getting those games removed from retail environments. Illegal online competition is much more pervasive, and much more difficult to eliminate, but lotteries can distinguish themselves from those operators by emphasizing their social responsibility and contributions to good causes. That’s what really sets the lottery industry apart from any competition, whether illegal or legal.

Lotteries in these situations should definitely take advantage of associations like NASPL and the WLA. They can assist their member lotteries by sharing developments around the world and the successful measures other lotteries have taken to address the problems.

What are your thoughts about the major advances in the lottery industry over the years?

There has been wonderful product evolution, from traditional games to digital and omnichannel innovations. But equally important is lotteries’ ever-expanding focus on social responsibility, responsible gambling and even sustainability. As I already noted, the key advantages lotteries have over other gambling operators are their contributions to good causes and their leading role in social responsibility through responsible gambling policies and programs.

On a global scale, the WLA RG Certification Program is critically important, and we’ve seen a phenomenal increase over the last 10 or even five years in the number of lotteries that are RG certified. I think 84% of WLA members are now certified at some level, and in only a year or so from now, we expect that 100% will be certified. It’s not so much that lotteries not certified haven’t been focused on RG, it’s that they are now more conscious of the program that encourages constant improvement and adapting to a changing environment. After all, there have been significant advances in the fields of responsible and problem gambling, and staying certified is perhaps the best way to keep up with developments to keep our players healthy. Certification also communicates the differences between lotteries and their competition.

It’s also important for lotteries to communicate their efforts to address other concerns of today’s society, including environmental issues such as carbon footprints and paper usage. I’ll give another shoutout to Loto-Québec here. A few years ago, it became the first lottery in the world to offer scratch tickets on 100% recycled and recyclable paper. They are every bit as attractive as traditional tickets, and with broader adoption, they are yet another way lotteries can distinguish themselves from the competition – and appeal to younger generations who care about the environment.

What other lottery industry developments stand out?

I’d say a strength of the lottery industry is in how our product portfolios evolve using new technologies. Not all lotteries are able to offer actual sales online, so progress with unique omnichannel products that allow some crossover is great to see. This way lotteries can still involve retailers while engaging with players on their devices.

Then there’s ongoing consolidation in the industry. Historically we’ve seen it with suppliers, as the number of companies serving lotteries shrinks even while innovations continue. Some of the suppliers have even become operators. And more recently, a few lotteries are branching out, either developing products themselves to offer to others (although this isn’t strictly a new phenomenon) or taking on a more robust role on the international stage. FDJ United is a prime example of that – the recent rebrand of what began almost 100 years ago as the French National Lottery, which through various acquisitions now serves as a lottery and gaming operator around the world.

Consolidation is just the reality of the world becoming a much more global place. The strength moving forward is that these are reliable, respected lottery operators that grew beyond their borders, respecting all the values of WLA and NASPL members.

ADVERTISEMENT

You’ve been one of the most successful women in the lottery industry. How does it feel to be a trailblazer in that regard?

I never thought of myself as a trailblazer. My sister and I were fortunate in that we were brought up never knowing there was such as a thing as a glass ceiling. I was very lucky in that regard! When I first started at Loto-Québec, women were mostly in the legal and human resources departments, and in support staffs, not in the executive suite. I think that was typical back then.

So much has changed since then. We started to see more women at the highest levels, including my own ascent at Loto-Québec. When I was named President and CEO of the company and began being called a “trailblazer,” it was very humbling. I believe in helping women advance in the corporate world. If I have indeed been a role model, it has been very rewarding to have impacts on the careers of other women, even those I have never met!

When you look at the global lottery industry today, you’re still maybe not seeing enough women in senior management positions, but it’s certainly an improvement on where we used to be. In fact, there was recent time when the presidents of four of the six lottery associations were women. Women have also been well-represented on the NASPL Executive Committee. Women have led, and continue to lead, some of the largest and most important lotteries in the world. Of course, not everyone’s goal is to be a CEO, but to even have the opportunity these days is remarkable.

And I was fortunate to be involved from the beginning with Women in Lottery Leadership (WILL), the brainchild of Rebecca Paul. There are now WILL programs around the world, and it’s heartening to see how strong the group now is.

Beyond setting a standard for women in the lottery industry, what would you consider to be your own personal achievements?

It has been an amazing experience, and I’ve only been able to accomplish so much because of the full support of my family. My husband and children are the center of my life, and I’ve been very fortunate that they haven’t minded all the takeout dinners. That alone is one of the greatest achievements possible!

If I had to pick one thing I’ve been involved with that has had the biggest industry impact, I’d say responsible gambling. I believe in it with my heart and soul. I’m proud of the role I played at Loto-Québec as head of the first department to take on RG, and of setting up the WLA RG Certification Program. Seeing its huge growth over the years has been remarkable.

ADVERTISEMENT

What have you enjoyed most about your decades in the lottery industry?

It has certainly been very satisfying to know I had the full confidence of the organizations I led. I never saw myself as a role model – I just saw myself as a person who was fortunate to have the chance to do what they love to do and being able to contribute. I truly believe that in life, you should just do your very best and enjoy the opportunities that arise as a result.

Yet it really boils down to the people. There’s a uniqueness to our industry. Globally, lotteries generate hundreds of billions of dollars in sales annually, yet at every meeting, we’re all like one happy family. There are common goals – responsibly offering games, maintaining the integrity and security of our operations, and returning revenues to our communities – and that creates bonds that transcend socioeconomic, cultural and language differences and allow us to learn from each other. That learning is facilitated by the WLA and all the regional associations including NASPL. It really is very, very unique.

What’s next?

Well, I won’t be sitting at home knitting! Or staying home in general – that’s just not me. Generally, I’m not a person who spends a lot of time planning, but in my 80th year, there are things I want to do while I still can. On the personal front, I’ll be spending more quality time with my family. One of my sons is here in Montreal, but the other is in California. Hopefully the quick trips out there with the redeyes home are a thing of the past!

And I’m hopeful that exciting opportunities will come up so that I stay stimulated and continue making a contribution.