Keeping Them Spellbound
By Patricia McQueen
(With additional reporting by NASPL’s Denise Lechak.)
Published October 20, 2026
A series of breakout sessions focused on today’s industry’s challenges as we look to the future. Topics included strategies to remain relevant, business continuity and security, the use of data, retailer modernization, product and game development, prize structure that go beyond jackpots, experiential prizing, the annual gift responsibly campaign, and the need for storytelling and player engagement.
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The Lottery of 2030: What Must Change — And What Must Not
Randy Burnside, DC Lottery; Jim Hasegawa, California Lottery; Harold Mays, Illinois Lottery; Frank Suarez, Connecticut Lottery
Moderator: Helene Keeley, Delaware Lottery
This panel discussed current trends across the consumer and retail space and what they mean for lotteries. The biggest trend today is the rapid acceleration of change and shorter life cycles for all products (not just lottery), noted Hasegawa. “To be successful in the future, we have to adapt and evolve our own internal structures and processes, so that we can be more nimble and react to change more rapidly.” From the consumer perspective, they increasingly expect immediacy, convenience and personalization, and lotteries need to meet those expectations. Are there ways to deliver physical lottery products, much like food and household goods are now delivered?
Of course, lotteries may know what they “need” to do, but they are limited by laws or policies despite rapidly-changing consumer preferences. “We have to do everything that we can to work with our legislatures, work with the people in power, to empower our lotteries to evolve into what we need to be,” said Burnside, adding that he is blessed to have worked for two lotteries in jurisdictions (DC and West Virginia) with forward-thinking elected officials. “We have things that the private sector does not have,” such as the transparency, trust and integrity of a government agency.
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The panelists agreed that modernization should not come by relaxing or compromising their core principles, responsibilities and characteristics – chief among them being integrity, fairness, responsible gambling, public trust and a public mission. But these things don’t have to be barriers to innovation – they actually give lotteries permission to innovate. Importantly, the human connection with players is a valuable relationship. “Lottery does mean something to people,” said Mays.
A word that popped up throughout the conference was “frictionless” – making lottery easier for both players and retailers. Not all locations that are potentially valuable lottery retailers have the space or desire to have a big vending machine and other equipment, so there are still plenty of barriers to entry. The industry has had basically the same compensation model for retailers since the beginning, noted Hasegawa. Are there ways to adapt to fit individual retailers’ needs?
And just like decades ago, younger adults still don’t understand lottery – the intimidation factor remains. “We need to think about the customer experience and their journey, and how we get them to understand how to play, and make it easy for our retailers AND our players,” said Burnside.
Continuity Under Pressure: Preparing Lotteries for the Unexpected
Dave Hubbard, Florida Lottery; Marc Marseglia, New Jersey Lottery; Mike Wells, Oregon Lottery
Moderator: Jodi Ryon, Florida Lottery
Conversations about business continuity used to focus primarily on weather-related disruptions or IT outages. Today, lottery operations are interconnected in so many ways – multiple vendors and networks, different technologies, retailers, player participation and more – and a single disruption in one link can break the entire chain and have potentially devastating impacts on public trust. This panel discussed how to plan for something you can’t plan for.
The Oregon Lottery is currently putting most of its current efforts into cybersecurity. “We’re no longer self-contained,” said Wells, with lotteries becoming more digital and using a broader array of technology. “At last count, we had over a thousand integrations in our organization.” The New Jersey Lottery is focused more on what it can control, and much of that focus revolves around its drawings. “I’m not sure the risks have changed that much,” said Marseglia, adding that the experience of Covid-19 probably helped the team understand those risks better. Florida’s Hubbard cited multiple concerns, including cybersecurity and connectivity in the land of hurricanes. Yet one of his biggest concerns has nothing to do with technology. He noted that 50% of the Lottery’s employees are age 50 or older; 25% are over 60. Many of them have been with the Lottery since the beginning. “There will be a lot institutional knowledge that will go out the door with them.”
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Participants shared a real-word experience that provided an important lesson going forward. About two years ago, an unprecedented 24 hours of freezing rain in Oregon caused building collapses and complete power and communications disruptions for about 12 hours; not even cell service was available in the affected area, which included the Oregon Lottery’s headquarters. “It’s a terrible feeling when you are stuck at home and have no ability to do anything,” said Wells. Needless to say, the existing continuity plan didn’t work, even though it included multiple communications plans. The first thing they did after that experience was to buy a few satellite phones for key individuals so there would always be critical communications.
Unexpected nearby fiber cuts have disrupted internet connections at the Florida Lottery, requiring considerable effort to restore everything. As part of the recovery, Hubbard explained that even more redundancy was added where the connections enter the buildings, and there is ongoing exploration for the unexpected.
All the participants emphasized the need to define priorities before disaster hits. Safety of the employees comes first; after that, things should be addressed in terms of their stated priority and what resources are available. And while they acknowledged the critical importance of industry and government partners, they noted that sometimes those partners aren’t quite on the same page when it comes to the need for regular testing. The Oregon Lottery is starting to include language in vendor partner contracts that requires notifications of cyber incidents and breeches, and also their participation in some testing processes.
They also all agreed on the benefits of using the cloud, which reduces the risk of local data disruptions by allowing access from anywhere. “Moving to the cloud, although it does add new vulnerabilities and complexity at times, can alleviate some of our concerns not only from a support perspective, but in the resiliency of the solutions,” said Hubbard. “They do the power and the lifting to make sure things are updated. It helps eliminate a lot of the concerns and risks for us.”
Panelists were asked what would be the one action lotteries should take now to better prepare for the unexpected. Wells encouraged everyone to actually test their backups on a regular basis, and to ensure there are backups for every system, not just the gaming system. Marseglia emphasized the need to have everyone look at continuity plans, not just managers or supervisors. “You don’t know what you don’t know. In a crisis, it’s all hands. So why not have everybody familiar with it?” And Hubbard said it’s critical to make sure every little piece of the puzzle is documented. “You may have all your best people working on something, but if they don’t know that one little trick, you’re spinning your wheels and wasting time – it’s the little surprises that get you!”
From Concept to Performance: Product Management and Game Development in a Changing Marketplace
Kristen Pare, Bally’s Intralot; Kyle Rogers, Scientific Games; Kelly-Jaye Rosberg, Pollard Banknote; Nat Worley, Brightstar Lottery
Moderator: Gretchen Corbin, Georgia Lottery
This discussion, featuring representatives of the four primary industry vendor partners, emphasized the importance of a balanced portfolio. Jackpot games provide excitement and revenues, scratch tickets provide volume, and digital games (where allowed) provide reach and entertainment.
When asked if there is excitement in the draw game category, Worley said that new games need simplicity, while existing games can take advantage of brand awareness. Investment should be made in games that fit well into a portfolio. Rogers noted that draw games can build excitement, but they need improved distribution (through mobile and vending, for example). Rosberg would like to see more realtime messaging and games with progressive jackpots.
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There was also a discussion of how lotteries can take advantage of the popularity of sports. Pare cited the DC Lottery’s Race to Riches, which takes the social experience and sports excitement to a lottery game. Worley noted that many characteristics of popular sports (like leaderboards) are signals of what players want.
And once again AI came into the discussion. As expected, the consensus was that the prospects are exciting, but humans always have to provide governance. AI can be very helpful in customer support, assisting call centers with responses to routine questions – IF information is kept up to date. AI can also help maximize instant ticket distribution, and even help inform game design.
Panelists gave an enthusiastic “yes” when asked if the industry is ready for a national scratch game, and would also love to see more draw games that aren’t dependent on jackpots.
New Frontiers in Experiential Gaming: Creating More Immersive Player Experiences
Paul Guziel, Alchemy3; Derek Gwaltney, Atlas Experiences
Moderator: John Martin, Maryland Lottery
Cash may be king in the lottery industry, but the two speakers in this session focused on experiences that tap into emotional relationships that consumers may have with specific brands or locations. Those relationships can lead to exceptional winning moments that players are willing to shout about – something they increasingly don’t want to do with a big cash prize.
Both speakers emphasized that it’s important to offer immersive events with multiple winning experiences throughout the timeline. One key to success is to keep players engaged from the time of entry to the date of the actual experience. Depending on the underlying game, even winner notifications may come 12 to 18 months before the experience is fulfilled.
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Lotteries are encouraged to get involved, to do site visits and even participate in the ultimate experience. By getting that first-hand exposure, they can offer feedback and also pass their enthusiasm on to their players.
Experiential prizes aren’t immune from the expectations brought about by huge jackpot game prizes. “You have to compete a little with what peoples’ expectations about what they SHOULD be winning if they win the lottery,” said Guziel. “We’ve had some repeat players, and they will always compare their last experience,” added Gwaltney.
Competing for Attention: Keeping Lotteries Relevant in a Crowded Entertainment Market
Jorge Alfonso, Florida Lottery; Stephanie Fidler, Pennsylvania Lottery; Rob Wesley, Aristocrat Interactive
Moderator: Justin Rock, Florida Lottery
This panel pondered the question of whether lotteries are top-of-mind with consumers, or are just a blip in the landscape. On the one hand, the industry has been talking about changing consumer expectations and increased competition for years, and sales generally have marched forward. But can that continue?
For Wesley, the way to compete is to create the most frictionless experience possible. Take actual consumer behavior, identify where there is friction, and remove that friction. Retail relationships are the key for Alfonso. “We fight for retail space,” so the strategy should be about retail activation. That comes from rewarding lottery sales reps. In Pennsylvania, where commercial gaming competition has exploded within the past decade, the Lottery is focusing on its trusted brand equity. “We needed a campaign to remind people why they love the Pennsylvania Lottery, but one campaign (Lottery Love) won’t change opinions,” said Fidler. What will hopefully have long-term impact is honing in on the fun and showing up in fun places.
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Attracting new players is particularly challenging in a competitive market. The Pennsylvania Lottery rotates two ad campaigns for its traditional products – one (“Gus”) that appeals to core players and another (“Talking Tickets”) that appeals to slightly younger players. For iLottery, there’s a robust CRM with personalized attention. Across all product lines, it’s important to take advantage of big jackpots – they help attract new players, re-engage with lapsed players, and appeal to core players. The Florida Lottery has success capturing players through the mobile rewards apps offered by some major retailers. “A lottery presence [on those apps] will engage our core and attract new players,” said Alfonso. Wesley noted that in just a short time, the Massachusetts Lottery has rocketed to the top echelon of iLottery performance by leveraging customer data and reducing friction.
How do these lotteries decide where to invest their resources? Again focusing on reducing friction, Wesley emphasized the need to invest in areas that help create seamless experiences. Florida is investing in the retailer experience. And in Pennsylvania, by necessity the scratch portfolio has received all the attention due to its decline in a highly competitive market. Ticket size was increased to give players more value, play symbols were modernized, payouts were increased (after receiving some profit margin relief), more promotions were added, and game launches went from monthly to every five or six weeks. Those efforts have been successful in slowing the decline in scratch-off sales.
When asked what is the one thing lotteries should do to remain relevant over the next five years, both Wesley and Alfonso said that relationships – not transactions – should be paramount. For Fidler, it’s a no-brainer: All lotteries need to be able to sell online. “It’s just expected by consumers.”
Gift Responsibly Campaign 2026: Engage, Educate & Take Action
Julia Brunson and Cait Huble, National Council on Problem Gambling
Representatives from the NCPG discussed the organization’s annual Gift Responsibly Campaign, celebrating 100% participation from North American lotteries over the past eight years. The initiative has even reached other countries, with culturally relevant adjustments as needed. The core goals are to educate communities that lottery tickets aren’t for kids, to raise awareness, and support responsible gambling practices. Last year, a Too Young to Bet campaign option was added, to allow participation by other gambling operators beyond lotteries. That addition produced a 30% increase total overall participation.
There are three levels of participation for lotteries. Lottery Level 1 typically has the most participants; required is a campaign press release and at least four educational social posts. Lottery Level 2 increases the minimum number of educational social posts to eight, adds targeted advertising requirements and retailer training or retailer educational materials. The most campaign requirements are at Lottery Level 3, which increases the number of education social posts to 11, and adds a full commercial or digital campaign, pitching editorial content to the media, and a required NCPG membership. All participation levels require completion of a post-campaign survey.
There are also levels for non-lottery gambling partners and community partners.
The NCPG provides toolkits for participants to help organizations with their campaigns. These can include campaign logos, a fact sheet, press release and social templates, a lottery retailer training checklist, and a variety of sample images.
Beyond the Dashboard: Turning Data, Research, and Analytics Into Action
Jason Allsopp, Angus Reid; Scott Morasch, Ipsos; Sarah Taylor, Hoosier Lottery; McKenzie Teems, Florida Lottery
Moderator: Justin Rock, Florida Lottery
More and better research is needed in the lottery industry for several reasons. Lotteries want to know about overall portfolio optimization, existing vs. new players, how to engage and connect with players on an emotional level, retail productivity, how to future-proof lottery and make it more relevant, and much, much more.
Research should do one of three things, noted Morasch. It should help you build confidence to proceed with an idea or initiative; it should identify any areas to reconsider or improve; or it might reveal that the idea needs a complete overhaul. More often than not, research reveals what needs to be changed. Allsopp emphasized that research needs to build confidence, and tracking studies that require too much time to complete skew the results in favor of the core players willing to take that time.
Importantly, a research study or report should not be expected to be the only thing that tells you what to do, how to do it, and what to expect. Evidence alone should not eliminate judgement, noted Morasch, but it just one part of a decision-making process.
There’s a big difference between data and insights, noted Morasch. Insights provide material answers to business questions, and should point to a forward-looking decision or action. Indeed, those who make the decisions don’t need to see every data point collected in a research study. As an active end-user, Taylor typically wants to know the challenges that are being addressed along with an executive summary with key insights and takeaways. But she also finds a storytelling presentation very compelling. All with an eye towards what was learned to improve future decision-making.
Rock asked the panelists to provide one step that a lottery organization can take now to help their organization move from just collecting data to actually acting on that information so it’s something they can use. Morasch emphasized the need to ensure that you have a clear vision of the actual decision you are trying to inform, who needs to use that information, and what might be the path if the results are unexpected. For Taylor, it’s important to maintain the discipline to give the project the required due diligence, and to take ownership of the project. Allsopp agreed that it’s fundamentally about accountability, which drives the decision-making. For Teems, communication is key – you can’t live in a silo of research. You need to know the direction every department might want to go.
Self-Checkout and Digital Lottery Retail Blend: An Update From the NASPL Retail Modernization Committee
Andrew Caswell, Scientific Games; Amy Drooker, Pollard Banknote; Michael Martin, Bally’s Intralot; Jesse Saccoccio, Brightstar Lottery
Moderator: Andrew White, NASPL
This panel featured a discussion of the latest developments from the NASPL Retail Modernization Committee, which is moving into high gear once again. “This committee will have a lot more to report over the next year,” explained White. “There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit we can capture.”
Much of the current focus is on harnessing the latest technologies and helping the participating vendors standardize their approaches. “The NASPL API is expanding what range of products we can sell inlane,” said Caswell. “If the juice is worth the squeeze, then we have to develop it.”
“You start with the retailer, pick the right format for the environment, and then run a measured pilot,” added Drooker. For Martin and Saccoccio, it’s important to start at solving the problems for players – removing friction and understanding and creating a seamless experience. “A better way to play,” agreed Caswell.
The discussion turned to how responsible gambling efforts will be implemented with the new ways to sell lottery products. Everyone agreed that today’s consumers expect in-store camera technology, and are increasingly comfortable with know-your-customer technologies. And RG falls right in line.
An important goal of the Retail Modernization Committee going forward is to have all the vendors aligned, and retailers need to be at the table. Twenty top retailers will be asked to join the group in meetings four times a year. “Grocery continues to be the most untapped channel, with the most points of purchase for this technology,” said Drooker. “We need to understand what the retail industry needs, with a focus on expanding total sales, not just migrating back and forth between channels.”
By bringing everyone together, including the top retailers, we start with technology and then concentrate on the player experience. “We have so much technology available to use at our disposal,” said Saccoccio, adding that with the speed at which things happen these days, “now’s the time to harness those new capabilities.”
Martin agreed on the need to reduce friction and concentrate on the user experience. “As an industry, we have to stop waiting for someone else to solve our problems for us” and stop doing the same things over and over. “It’s irresponsible not to modernize. We need to be Uber, not taxi.”
Caswell added his take. “We need to sell dreams and experiences, but we need to connect players with those experiences, with technology solutions. We need to put lottery where people are, and that’s everywhere.”
Secure, Resilient, and Ready: Technology and Operations for the Modern Lottery
Chris Lopez, California Lottery; Ryan May, Florida Lottery
Moderator: Jodi Ryon, Florida Lottery
Technology is a major component of everything lotteries do, and this panel discussed the trends that are currently having the biggest impact on lottery operations, now and into the future.
Perhaps not surprisingly, AI came up first in the discussion. For the California Lottery, the AI focus is on productivity tools that allow employees to be more productive and efficient. These tools are not just for the technical team or power users. They are helping everyone create templates, get conversations started, come to decisions much faster, and just generally improving efficiency. And as everyone gets used to the technology, there’s a side benefit, noted Lopez. “They’ll turn that knowledge into expertise, and find creative ways to leverage that in the products and services that we use to deliver gaming products and services to our players.”
From a cybersecurity perspective, however, the sheer speed of AI development is scary, noted May. Bad actors are taking advantage. Yet AI can also be helpful in finding holes in the system.
As lotteries have implemented modernization tools and techniques, there have been valuable lessons learned. Sometimes with efforts to focus on security, it’s possible to lose sight of what’s really important – delivering products and services that the customers want to use and enjoy. Lopez explained that the California Lottery launched a new second-chance platform last winter. “We achieved our technology goals and our security goals, but we let the players down. They were unhappy with the changes we implemented. We didn’t really manage it well and we lost perspective of the customer.” He advised others to always keep the customer focus, putting yourself in their shoes.
As we heard in many of the breakout sessions on various topics, partnerships are critical. A lottery’s cybersecurity team doesn’t just want to say “no” – they are trying to balance the need to maintain legal compliance with the desire to empower employees to get things done, explained Florida’s May. And the California Lottery is transforming its security function from a compliance team to a solution provider. “Some of the most creative solutions I’ve seen have actually come from security protocols,” said Lopez.
The panelists were then asked to name one technology or operational priority that lotteries must address now to better prepare for what comes next. Lopez emphasized that whatever you do, it needs to be focused on data-driven, flexible, future technologies, since technology moves at such a rapid pace. That allows you to seize the moment, leverage all the data you can collect, and use it in a way that allows you to gain insights. All while developing high-performing teams that are willing and able to challenge the status quo and change processes and procedures.
For May, it’s important to be hyper-focused on distributed ledger technologies – hypermesh, crypto currencies and the new payment rails that are coming. Even though Florida’s law requires lottery transactions with actual cash, we have to start looking for new solutions. A whole new crypto currency system is right around the corner.
Beyond the Jackpot: Prize Structures That Drive Engagement and Retention
Kate Airey, Maryland Lottery; Angela Chunn, Florida Lottery; Katherine Cundiff, Georgia Lottery
Moderator: Justin Rock, Florida Lottery
Jackpots may generate headlines, but prize structure plays a critical role in shaping the overall player experience. In this session, product development experts discussed their strategies for prize structures in a variety of games, with goals to strengthen engagement while keeping games competitive, relevant, and rewarding.
“Variety is the key in developing prize structures,” emphasized Maryland’s Airey. “We have lots of different player types with different tolerance levels for risk, and we need to provide product for everyone to continue growing sales and revenue in a responsible manner.”
Airey cited two examples of game changes that provided positive experiences for players. Maryland used to launch totally unique bingo and crossword games at the $3, $5, $10 and $20 price points every fiscal year. It was a drain on resources to provide all new games when they didn’t really provide much different value to the players. “Through player outreach and vendor recommendations, we found out that our extended play players do not want to re-learn how to play their bingos and crossword games everytime we launch a new one.” Enter an edition strategy – colors may change and there’s a new set of prizes in each edition, but the prize structure and play mechanics are identical to the prior game. They also learned that extended play players are motivated more by churn and chatter wins than they are the top prize. As a result, the Lottery has been able to modestly drop payout and increase revenue contributions from those extended play games without negatively affecting sales performance.
Another positive change was in the Racetrax monitor game, on the market since 2008. While popular, it was always second to Keno in both sales and player preferences. In 2013, exotic bet types were added that happened to provide bets that in some ways mirrored the daily pick games. “Finding ways to extend play mechanics or bet types that players love from one extremely popular product line to another absolutely contributed to the growth Racetrax has seen.” The game first surpassed Keno in annual sales in 2020 and in CY2025 outpaced Keno by nearly $100 million.
Unique prize structure research conducted in 2023 was extremely illuminating, noted Airey. Players were asked, by price point, what prize would make them: 1) feel satisfied, 2) feel thrilled, 3) reinvest 100%, 4) reinvest 50% and 5) walk away entirely. “Across the board, the prize amounts needed to feel satisfied and thrilled were much lower than we were expecting. This research has enabled us to allocate prize expense in the ways that are most meaningful to players to maximize both the player experience and revenue contributions to the state.” Maryland plans to conduct similar research with Fast Play.
Georgia’s Cundiff discussed changing market conditions due to the influx of competition and changing gaming landscape. Because of gaming options like fantasy sports, COAM machines at retail and the Lottery’s digital games that offer immediate and frequent winning experiences, player expectations are changing. In some instances, they are migrating their spend to these options. “As we look to keep players engaged with the lottery and/or attract younger audience who have a different set of expectations, we must develop prize structure diversification based on category and price points to stay relevant.”
Key to the Georgia Lottery’s planning process is managing data. “A couple of years ago we conducted two meaningful win/feel research studies to determine what is important to our scratch and eInstant players,” explained Cundiff. The objectives were to examine how players felt about winning different amounts of a prize structure for each price point in order to determine the prize amounts that generate the most excitement and provide meaningful wins. “We have used the results of the study as our guide when developing and/or adjusting prize structures in both scratch and eInstants.” Sales trends are just as important, but the outcome of this study provided another tool for the toolbox.
The Florida Lottery’s goal is to offer a portfolio of games that reach all players – tickets with varying prize structures that focus on meaningful prizes, frequent opportunities to win, second chance opportunities, clear value propositions, and a variety of winning experiences. “Data, player research, game performance, and portfolio considerations all play an important role in determining the appropriate prize structure for a game,” explained Chunn. “We use these inputs collectively to ensure the prize structures support both player appeal and the Lottery’s business objectives.”
Revenue objectives are considered at the portfolio level rather than looking at an individual game in isolation. Player satisfaction is incorporated through player research, concept testing, and ongoing performance monitoring.
For Florida’s core players, there’s usually a greater emphasis on meaningful mid-tier prizes, along with multiple ways to win, bonus spots, and other features that add play value. For casual and emerging players, there’s more emphasis on better overall odds and a higher frequency of winning tickets. Across the portfolio, there should be a range of winning experiences across multiple price points – from games with frequent winning opportunities and accessible playstyles to games featuring higher top prizes, meaningful mid-tier prizes, and blowout concepts. At the same time, lotteries need to continue innovating through diverse prize structures, new playstyles, new features, and different value propositions while maintaining proven games that players know and enjoy.
The two remaining sessions focused on engagement, through storytelling in marketing campaigns and strategies that strengthen the lottery brand, build public trust, and create meaningful connections with players. Florida Lottery Deputy Secretary of Marketing Amber Seale led both sessions.
Storytelling That Resonates: Campaigns That Build Engagement and Loyalty focused specifically on building loyalty through stories that create emotional connections, reinforce public trust, and demonstrate the lottery’s broader purpose. Participating were Edie Frakes, Chief Brand Officer at the Kentucky Lottery; Michael Lewis, the Florida Lottery’s Advertising Manager; and Chrislyn Maher, Director of Communications for the Louisiana Lottery.
Winning Attention: Marketing, Branding, and Player Engagement in a Changing Marketplace looked at evolving player expectations, digital and social media strategies, retail partnerships, and the importance of responsible engagement, multicultural outreach, and maintaining a brand that resonates across generations. Participating were Lou Ann Russell, Executive Vice President, Advertising and Marketing for the Tennessee Education Lottery; Everett Williams, Director of Advertising and Marketing for the Florida Lottery; and Greg Wood, Director of Market Research Strategies at the Kentucky Lottery.
