players` satisfaction

Transcription

NEWS 34
MAGA ZI N E O F TH E EU RO PE AN LOT TER I E S , 201 0, S EPTEM B ER
CONTENT:
PLAYERS'
SATISFACTION
1. Foreword
3. Editorial
4. Players’ Satisfaction
26. Legal
28. News Members
30. Premium Partners
32. Responsible Gaming
33. Workshops
AGENDA 2010
SEPTEMBER
• EL RESPONSIBLE GAMING
SEMINAR
29 September-01 October
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Host: Svenska Spel
NOVEMBER
• EL EUROPEAN LEGAL AFFAIRS
SEMINAR
17 November (one day
meeting on European issues)
Location: Brussels, Belgium
•
OCTOBER
• EUROPEAN LOTTERY
MANAGEMENT (ELM)
13-15 October
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Host: Société de la
Loterie de la Suisse Romande
LOTTERY ONLINE GAMING
MARKETS 2010
EL/WLA INTERNET SEMINAR
22-24 November
Location: Rome, Italy
Host: Lottomatica SpA
Registration for all our seminars
can be done online at
http://www.european-lotteries.org
All events are available on our website (under events). Announcements
are made a few months in advance.
IN PREPARATION: JOINT EL/WLA MARKETING SEMINAR IN LONDON / UK
From 26-28 January 2011
Mastering marketing in the age of new social media
Marketing, promotion and communication
The London marketing seminar has become an institution. Marketing is a vital part of all lottery organizations. London is a
great location and our timing matches that of the ICE exhibition. But most importantly, EL and the WLA offer a top notch two
day business program on promotion and communication using new media.
In Europe, Canada and Australia, more than 30 lotteries sell their products online. Not only traditional lotteries, but also games
like bingo and poker. But how advanced is your company promoting your games? How do you communicate your corporate
identity and responsible gaming efforts? How do you blog and Twitter and what is your Facebook profile like – if any? How do
you communicate with your customers not relying on the gentle smile from your retailer but using new social media and what
is their response? To learn and discuss with best practice lotteries and to listen to external new media communication gurus,
join us in London, January 26-28, 2011, and you will find out.
NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBER:
LVS Ltd
11-15, St Mary at Hill
UK – London EC3R 8EE
AGENDA
NEWS 34 SEPTEMBER 2010
FOREWORD
current Belgian EU Presidency takes in
our sector. It has scheduled five expert
meetings, one ministers’ meeting and
two conferences on gambling between
July and December this year. The second
conference, on 16 November, will deal
with the contributions of lotteries to
society. As always, we are providing EU
policy makers with the facts and figures
on the matters they are discussing.
DEAR EL MEMBERS,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
DEAR FRIENDS,
Again, we have witnessed very positive
developments in the EU over the past
months. In June and July, the Court
of Justice of the EU delivered three
judgments in which it gave full backing
to the gambling model we stand for, a
model from which the whole of society
benefits. And it once again rejected the
arguments of the many private online
gambling operators which pursue
purely commercial interests.
In its rulings, the Court provided
more legal certainty to all national
governments and all national lotteries
in the EU, including those not owned by
the state.
companies such as bwin and
PartyGaming on the one hand obtain
licences to legally pursue their activities
in France, but on the other hand – as
they announced in the context of their
planned merger early next year - make
31 and 18 per cent, respectively, of their
profits in Germany, where all online
gaming and betting has been prohibited
since January 2009.
In the wake of the Court’s rulings since
September 2009, a number of national
governments in Europe have intensified
their enforcement actions against
illegal online gambling operations. We
hope that many other governments
will follow suit. There is no reason to be
hesitant.
On 8 and 9 September, the Court
will rule in the German and Austrian
gambling cases. We expect the Court
to deliver another condemnation of
offshore operations.
Meanwhile, one is surprised to learn
that commercial online gambling
A very positive development at the
EU level is also the strong interest the
THE EUROPEAN LOTTERIES
PRESIDENT
Dipl. Ing. Friedrich STICKLER,
Deputy General Director
AUSTRIAN LOTTERIES, Austria
1ST VICE-PRESIDENT
Mr Christophe BLANCHARD-DIGNAC,
President – General Director
LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX, France
2ND VICE-PRESIDENT
Mr Tjeerd VEENSTRA,
Director
DE LOTTO, Netherlands
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Mr Hansjörg HÖLTKEMEIER,
Member of the Managing Board
DEUTSCHE KLASSENLOTTERIE
BERLIN, Germany
Mr Gonzalo FERNÁNDEZ RODRíGUEZ,
General Director
LOTERíAS Y APUESTAS DEL ESTADO
Spain
JUDr. Ales HUSAK,
Chairman of the Board of Directors
and General Director
SAZKA a.s., Czech Republic
Mr Léon LOSCH,
Director
LOTERIE NATIONALE, Luxembourg
FOREWORD AND ORGANISATION
Speaking about facts and figures, I
would like to thank all EL members for
providing their 2009 data more quickly
than ever before. This is absolutely
essential for our successful cooperation
with policy makers at the EU and
national levels.
In the context of the European
Commission’s upcoming consultation
on online gambling, likely to be opened
in November, we will consult with you
further and look forward to you sharing
your experience, expertise and thoughts
with us.
Friedrich STICKLER
EL President
Mr Giovanni E. MAGGI,
Director
SISAL SpA, Italy
Mr Jean-Luc MONER-BANET,
General Director
LOTERIE ROMANDE, Switzerland
Mr Offer PERI,
CEO & General Director
ISRAEL SPORTS BETTING BOARD,
Israel
Ms Dianne THOMPSON, CBE,
Chief Executive
CAMELOT UK LOTTERIES LTD.,
United Kingdom
1 NEWS 34 SEPTEMBER 2010
GENERAL SECRETARIAT
Ms Bernadette Lobjois
Secretary General
Av. de Béthusy 36
CH-1005 LAUSANNE
Tel. +41 21 311 30 25
Fax +41 21 312 30 11
http://www.european-lotteries.org
E-mail. [email protected]
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THE PLAYER IS KING
In this edition we will tackle a topic
that is at the core of our trade: THE
PLAYER, the main stakeholder in the
economic philosophy of all lotteries.
In order to best satisfy their customer’s
needs and secure their loyalty, the
lotteries continuously carry out studies,
organise forums or respond to customer
requirements and needs through
customer service.
Regularly launching new games is
obviously a necessary step for the
lotteries – in order to “appeal” to their
players and maintain their interest in
the brand. It is nevertheless essential to
have thorough knowledge of their needs.
In order to do so, a constant dialogue
is established by the lotteries, either
by means of Internet, brochures or
electronic messaging. The usage of the
most modern means such as Facebook
and Twitter ensures proximity with the
new generation of adult players.
Some lotteries have introduced loyalty
cards allowing them to regularly assess
the satisfaction level of their players
and to communicate with them
instantaneously.
The players are of course able to
recognize reliable lotteries monitored
by the state. Not only are the security
levels extremely high, but also these
organisations would not be able
to operate without having set up
significant responsible gaming policies.
In their communications to the players,
the lotteries keep them informed about
allocations made, directly or indirectly,
to various charitable organisations.
By nature, the lotteries receive state
licences provided that the collected
sums are used to finance good causes,
after deducting the earnings from
players and covering their costs.
This topic has been well received by
our Members who have answered
our questionnaire extensively. Their
comments are presented either in the
introduction or in separate articles that
give a look at the different strategies set
up by lotteries.
In addition, we are currently working on
the second semester of 2010 with a busy
activity programme:
– Responsible Gaming Seminar in
Stockholm from 29 September to 1
October. During this meeting you
will be given all necessary tools to
complete your Certification (see text
regarding the presentation of the
Certificates in this magazine).
– EL Management in Lausanne from
13 to 15 October. New managers
and executives regularly join the
lottery world and it is important that
EDITORIAL
they be up to date on best practices
in the gaming sector and that they
familiarize themselves with answers
given by their colleagues facing the
same challenges.
– Legal Seminar on 17 November
in Brussels during which the
Members will receive the latest legal
information from the European
Community.
– Internet Seminar in Rome from 22
to 24 November jointly organised
with WLA. Online markets have
changed during the past months
and new models have emerged.
During this seminar different points
of view will be presented in order to
better familiarise our Members with
the challenges in this continuously
changing sector.
In view of its next meeting on
14 September, the Executive Committee
will receive propositions for the 2011
activities which will thereafter be
available on our website. Please see our
website: www.european-lotteries.org to
find out more.
I wish you a very pleasant autumn and
am looking forward to seeing you or
one of your colleagues again at one of
our events.
With my best regards,
Bernadette LOBJOIS
Secretary General
PLAYERS’ SATISFACTION:
KEY LOTTERY
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR
We all have needs – personal and professional, and
if these needs are not recognized or appreciated, our
behaviour will change and any relationship around
us might be greatly impacted. Successful businesses
have long decided that listening to their customers
and knowing how to answer their needs will give
them an edge on competition, allow them to grow
and create value for both groups. More than ever, due
to the advances of the digital and mobile technology,
the Lottery industry faces harsh competition.
Borders are falling thanks to the Internet, new
legitimized game operators are allowed to compete
against state-sponsored organizations, and players
can access games anywhere, anytime.
Lotteries must become the best in their field in order
to remain attractive. To do so, they have to constantly
upgrade their products and services, and rethink
their management tools. And most of all, they must
care about their relationship with players. Games
marketers, operators and websites – more or less
honest – solicit regularly lottery players, and it can
be a daunting task for the consumer to verify the
legitimacy of these offers and an up-hill battle to resist
the captivating messages. This is where Lotteries
can perform best: Players want to be appreciated,
consulted and most of all informed. As a legitimate
organization whose mission is to collect funds for
good causes and the community, a Lottery can easily
have the upper hand on convincing players of their
honest, transparent and secure game offers. Reaching
for consumers on all communication channels, they
can create a collaborative environment between
them and their players: The Lottery listens and
innovates according to the information gained from
players and the players are satisfied and respond by
becoming loyal customers.
Establishing a perfect formula to know players’
preferences and anticipate changing behaviours
is impossible. Communication must be multidirectional in order to be most effective because
what motivates a player one day might change the
next day. Therefore, the inter-action between Lottery
staff, retailers and players is key to success, and an
PLAYERS’ SATISFACTION
open communication framework helps each group
to better communicate. The other approach is to
constantly monitor consumer’s behaviour through
market research, studies, regular information
exchange and the use of all communication channels.
Eesti Loto in Estonia has known that fact for a while
and to answer the ever shifting behaviour of players,
they already provide games on mobile devices and
are getting ready to launch a new website as well
as gaming opportunities on smart-phones. They
are also looking at the popular social networking
sites to communicate their message of safe and
entertaining games. Israel Sports Betting Board in
Israel combines physical and informational access
to spur a greater flow of information. Their POS
have been entirely redesigned to present a modern,
dynamic and friendly environment where players
can be entertained, while being made aware of the
organization’s mission and ethics commitment.
Customer relation strategy is an essential tool for
a lottery’s performance and most organizations
base their business operations and new product
development on in-depth customer understanding.
Veikkaus Oy in Finland has been using this approach
for years, knowing that their success depends on
meeting or surpassing players’ expectations. They
keep in touch with customers any way they can:
Internet, social media networks, SMS, e-mails as well
as promotional and information brochures offered
at POS. They have designed a Customer Loyalty
Programme as part of a variety of tangible benefits
presented to players, which can give them access to
VIP trips to sporting events, concert tickets or free
admission to museums for example. Direct feedback
from players is the perfect guideline to rethink a
new game or develop activities that will enhance
customers’ gaming experience in the future. At
National Lottery Ireland, the regular tracking of
player’s behaviour, new trends, spending patterns
as well as non-player attitudes towards the National
Lottery is a necessary step not only to improve
communication with customers but also the quality
of the Lottery products and services. As with other
lotteries, National Lottery Ireland also considers its
staff and retailers’ comments before launching new
games.
To achieve the best communication, quality service
is in the forefront. In Hungary, Szerencsejáték Zrt.
Lottery makes sure that the flow of information is
fast and precise. Any complaint is answered quickly
and accurately. General information and play
availability is made possible through a palette of
access tools: Internet, SMS, Call Centres, E-players’
cards in addition to regular POS. All Lotteries are
committed to responsible gaming and have put in
place many services to help their players. In Hungary,
Szerencsejáték Zrt. Lottery has a direct relationship
with the Medical Strategic Research Centre where
players can access information on game dependency
and help lines. The one goal that all Lotteries strive
to achieve is to retain a players loyalty. This is why
Lotteries must have a fully transparent operation
and constantly explain the social aim of their profits
and their commitment to a safe and responsible
game experience. Loteria de Catalunya in Spain has
set up all its communication tools to add value to
its products and its brand and keep players coming
back. Every partner is involved: Retailers, staff and
players to make sure that playing remains a safe and
entertaining practice.
In this issue, Lotteries describe the many different
information channels they use to open up to players.
By engaging customers to communicate and
participate in the development of new products,
Lotteries can present more satisfying games
and services. The equation is simple: A better
understanding of their players’ needs equals a
broader reach of players, a more cohesive relationship
between the two groups and in the end better security
for players and strong market advantage for lotteries.
A good and regular communication transforms
a traditional business into a more cooperative
framework - a winning solution for all.
GUIDING OUR
CUSTOMERS:
AN ENDURING CHALLENGE
LA FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
Boasting millions of customers, La Française
des Jeux ranks their satisfaction at the core
of its model for economic performance
and sustainable development. 2009 has
been the kick-start year in this field with a
new management dedicated to customer
assistance and loyalty programs. Being a
responsible game operator, the company acts
as responsibly when it comes to payouts. The
assistance is in fact a central element of any
interactions with players before and after the
winnings.
With 2 out of 3 French people being of age of playing
and a total of 28.2 million players in 2009, La Française
des Jeux remains in close and regular contact with a
large portion of the population. Satisfying millions
of players is and has been for a long time a natural
milestone in the Lottery’s strategy and in fact has
been the driving force behind the creation of the
FDJ® brand in 2009. Capitalizing on the company’s
assets (reputation, strength, reliability), the brand
henceforth bears the professional vision of the
lottery and presents a position of partner-advisor.
To this effect, it focuses and conveys our values and
commitments to the players: fun, responsible and
secure games; quality and performance of products;
service and proximity to the customers, etc. It will
help boost a lasting relationship of confidence with
each customer, and notably in the prospect of the
opening of the online gaming market.
ORGANIZED FOR A BETTER SATISFACTION
At the beginning of 2010, La Française des Jeux created a Customer Division with about fifty employees.
This reorganization, granted and prepared in 2009,
highlights the Lottery’s intent to place the customer
at the center of its activities. This new Division
has the ambition of consolidating the position of
FDJ® as the favored brand of games of chance in
France while following up essentially on customers’
satisfaction. Thus in order to best guide the players
towards the proposed services, FDJ® has decided to
facilitate the access to its Customer Service whose
quality is regularly measured. A telephone number,
now unique and accessible at no extra charge, as well
as an address where to contact FDJ® will soon be
mentioned on all communication materials.
In addition, to get to know the players better,
the trend of their expectations and understand
their perception, La Française des Jeux has been
conducting studies for a long time with all its
partners (customers, retailers, etc.); for online players
especially, an evaluation of the customer satisfaction
has been established annually since 2006 and takes
into account: full course fluidity, offers of addedvalue services, relevance of the different means of
contact being used, quick and efficient handling of
requests, etc. The results are then being analyzed and
action plans are set up to bring improvement from
year to year. And the results speak for themselves:
from end 2006 to end 2009, the grade applied to
the satisfaction level by online customers has gone
from 7.2 to 7.6 with 10 being the highest mark. A few
satisfaction reasons are sometimes communicated
to customers (for example the moderation services
such as Playscan). A feature that the company wishes
to improve in 2010 for all its customers will be the
priority given to the quick handling of requests, a key
factor in satisfaction.
FOCUS: STANDING BY THE CUSTOMERS’
SIDE: THE BIG WINNERS
With more than 800 million prizes paid in 2009, the
game is most often synonymous of profit. But not all
prizes have the same impact: when the prize money
is superior to one million Euros; the beneficiary
enters the category of “Big Winners”. He is then
subject to a specific assistance. The objective: to
give him key-information or tools that will help him
to better comprehend his new situation and the
possible professional and social consequences. The
support is adapted to the different phases that follow
the win.
As a first step, the player must go from dream to
reality. La Française des Jeux brings assistance by
giving him the opportunity of being entrusted to the
Winners-Relation Service. The three team-members
of this service do not hesitate to go visit the winner at
his domicile if needed. In 2009, they have completed
29 private visits. For winnings equal to or superior
to 15 million euros, the winner can request an
interlocutor all year round, seven days a week,
around the clock, by means of a specific clienttelephone number.
As a second step, the player must adjust to his
new financial reality. To help him immediately
after his win, La Française des Jeux sends him an
educational document to teach him about financial
management, followed shortly after by an invitation
to participate in a training day on the subject. This
way, the customer gets accustomed to taxation
vocabulary, real estate rights as well as family and
financial rights. He also receives common sense and
cautionary advices. At the same time, La Française
des Jeux assists him in communicating his feelings
and questions. In 2009, the Lottery has organized
six days focusing, for example, on the topic of “How
to keep on enjoying yourself when you can afford
everything?”. The psychologist Marie-José Lacroix
animated these sessions with an attendance of 10 to
15 winners each day. In 2009, La Française des Jeux
tended 122 big winners.
Focus 1
WELL GUIDED BIG WINNERS
A survey conducted in 2008 and 2009 by sociologists Michel Pinçon and Monique Pinçon-Charlot on
hundreds of big winners confirms that La Française des Jeux Help Service dedicated to big winners not
only was adapted to their expectations, but was also a necessity in a destabilizing time for the winner.
With this knowledge, the Lottery will strengthen its action in 2010 with priority given to a heightened
individual follow-up and a broader offer of materials to cover all the winners’ questions. Conferences will
then be organized on a variety of topics, going from the notion of privacy to the place occupied by money
in children’s education. Also, tours will be organized to discover the unusual Paris as well as the “other side
of the picture” of a large palace in the capital city.
Focus 2
COMPLETE SATISFACTION WITH
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Every year, La Française des Jeux measures
the satisfaction level of players who contact its
Customer Service. The last study was carried
out with a representative sample group of 1,033
Internet players who contacted the Customer
Service by phone or via e-mail during the period
of October 5-26, 2009. The results: With 92%
of satisfied users, the recognized quality of the
service has positioned the company among the
best telephone-based customer services in its
category. Thus, 70% of users (against 60% in 2008)
estimate this service to be superior to the other
customer services they have recently contacted
by phone. In conclusion, 96 % of the callers have
received an answer to their questions and 79% of
the complaints have been resolved. And from one
year to the other, the high level of satisfaction as
for the obtained response is confirmed (93% in
2009 against 91% in 2008).
CONSTANT SURVEYS OF PLAYERS’
SATISFACTION AT WESTDEUTSCHE
LOTTERIE GMBH & CO. OHG
When playing games offered by the Westdeutsche
Lotterie (WestLotto), customers and players can
rely on the fact that WestLotto is acting according to
the legal framework and that the offer is adapted to
the customer’s expectations. Based on that concept,
WestLotto is constantly striving to improve its offers
by conducting regular checks – often together with
the other members of the German Block – before
(and frequently even after) the launch of a new
product. Any product or services modifications are
done according to the results evaluated by suitable
market research.
For example, to make the core
product “LOTTO 6/49“ more
attractive, it was considered
to simplify the winning
formula and to increase the
frequency of wins. Without
describing in detail all the
tested modifications, there
have been surprising results
in the group discussions
with players and retail agents
(separate groups): Although
only regular players were
members of the players’ discussion group, hardly
anyone knew the correct stake for one row (only the
total costs for the whole lottery ticket). The players
rejected the idea of a stake reimbursement (with
very good winning odds of 1:10), because it goes
against their understanding of playing LOTTO 6/49.
The players want to win – and preferably “the right
way” – and do not want a rational minimization of
gaming risks. On the contrary, the majority of the
retail agents assessed the stake reimbursement
as positive, because they hoped to profit from the
increased winning frequency with more customer
visits. Based on these results, WestLotto has given up
on the idea of stake reimbursements. In a similar way
but with other methods, tests applied to the product
“Eurojackpot” (acceptance test, analyses of market
potential) or studies on the acceptance of product
modifications for Spiel 77 (price increase and at the
same time improvement of winning plan) have been
conducted.
In addition to the specific evaluation of likeability,
there is a continued observation of the general
player’s behaviour. To this end, a special customer
panel has been established which represents the
adult German population. Each month, the almost
10,000 participants indicate their participation in
games of chance, so that an updated data base is
always available (player profiles, participations/
intensities, parallel participation, migrations etc.)
and trends in the gambling market can be analyzed
in the long run. For instance, due to the fact that the
commercial lottery brokers were very successful in
the past, this has led the German lotteries to offer
system shares, and with that the Wednesday Lotto
and the Saturday Lotto have been put together into
one game “LOTTO 6/49” (with two draws and one
rollover-Jackpot). The low sales of Wednesday Lotto
have been reinforced by this measure.
Regarding the Jackpot behaviour, WestLotto always
notes that the quantity and participation of the
players rise according to the Jackpot and drop back
to the previous level after the Jackpot phase. This
dependency on the Jackpot size is reinforced by an
in-depth analysis of the Jackpot players: Almost one
in six people (about 17% of these players) only played
LOTTO 6/49 if the Jackpot exceeded € 10 Million.
Finally, we would like to mention that WestLotto is
currently striving to optimise the lottery tickets for
the customers. We have learned from customer surveys that the readability of the grids often causes
problems when filling in the ticket, especially for older people who represent the majority of our players
(50% are 50 years and older). Therefore, we have developed a new lottery ticket with different and clearer font types and contrasts in line with the latest state
of technology. The lottery ticket has then been evaluated and optimized by an expert group which deals
with user-friendly products and services every day.
As soon as the results of the experts are available, the
ticket will be updated according to the recommendations of the experts and will finally be sent to the
customers in a survey for ultimate evaluation.
Put yourself in the picture
att the
th
World Lottery Association 2010
Convention and Trade Show
Regiﬆer now at wla2010.com
The World Lottery Association 2010 Convention and Trade Show opens in Brisbane,
Australia, in October. Secure your place now at www.wla2010.com
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Please go to www.wla2010.com for more details
IN BELGIUM,
OPTIMISING DIRECT
“NON-COMMERCIAL” CONTACTS
WITH PLAYERS CREATES SATISFIED
CONSUMER COMMUNITIES
A few years ago, The National Lottery’s Marketing,
Legal and Sales Departments set up various means
for measuring and ensuring player satisfaction.
THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT set up a “Contact
Point”.
This contact point assembles the players’ complaints,
answers them, and if necessary introduces action
plans for remedying the existing problems. Over the
twelve months of 2009, the number of complaints
recorded by the Contact Point was low in relation to
the high number of scratch and lottery games.
It therefore clearly appears that the Contact Point’s
answers to each complaint are considered to be
satisfactory by the players and thus fully meet their
concerns. The Contact Point enables the relationship
of trust with certain players to be restored.
THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT, throughout the
year, conducts various surveys in order to determine
the perception of our games and our advertising
campaigns by our players and by non-players, as well
as player satisfaction with respect to the National
Lottery’s package (range of games, distribution
channels, and so on): Usage & Attitude, Advertising
Campaign Before & After Tests, and Customer
Satisfaction.
A Concept Test research is also conducted when the
games are developed or altered.
Player information and the development of consumer
loyalty are also at the heart of our objectives: The
annual report provides that information and the
electronic newsletters maintain the link between the
players and our games.
Moreover, the Marketing Department respects the
sectoral ethical and responsible advertising code for
companies that organise lottery games. This code has
been drafted by the National Lottery in consultation
with the EAJ (Ethical Advertising Jury, advertising’s
self-regulating watchdog in Belgium).
The reinforcement of the Public Relations unit, part
of the Marketing Department, promotes enhanced
transparency in our public communications. In this
spirit of contact with the players, a new position has
been created, namely “Marketing Support, Consumer
Dialogue & Quality Control Specialist”. The objective
is to optimise the direct “non-commercial” contacts
with the consumer via electronic channels in order
to create satisfied consumer communities.
The Marketing Department is also involved in
providing answers to the players’ questions at the
Contact Point. These questions come in many
different forms and concern the draw procedure, the
lottery game result statistics, the mechanics of the
games, the taxing of the wins, the special jackpots
and draws that are organised, and so on and so
forth. Many players also come up with various game
suggestions.
THE SALES DEPARTMENT provides its distribution
channel sales outlets with a series of guidelines for
the purpose of ensuring player satisfaction: Code
of conduct for the organisation of jackpots, sales
outlet training in a centre especially designed by
the National Lottery, and regular sales terminal
maintenance reminders in order to ensure that the
tickets are perfectly legible.
‘Mystery Shopping’ exercises are also conducted
in order to check that the prohibition of selling to
minors is being observed.
The satisfaction level of the National Lottery’s
players represents an objective linked to obtaining
the collective annual bonus.
THE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT conducts market research in order to
determine the strategy for each new product
launch. Monitoring the international product trends
represents a means of meeting player satisfaction by
developing new game mechanisms.
THE IGS UNIT (Interactive Gaming System)
has started the new on-line gaming platform in
March 2010. A satisfaction survey was conducted
beforehand on a representative sample in order
to ensure that the website was as user-friendly as
possible. Other surveys have been conducted in
order to ascertain how the players behave on the
Internet platform and to adapt it in order to ensure
player satisfaction.
A Call Centre has also been set up in order to answer
all the consumers’ questions. Other surveys are
envisaged during 2010 in order to measure player
and non-player satisfaction alike.
PLAYERS’ TRUST –
A PRICELESS ASSET FOR SISAL
The growth in the gaming market over the past few
years has afforded us an opportunity to considering
the offer of new products developed in response to
the changing needs of Italian players. A close analysis
of these new trends has shown that those needs
vary widely depending on the individual profiles
of players. For Sisal, this has basically meant that,
alongside its traditional products, there is a need for
constant innovation by developing new products.
This has been the case with “Vinci per la Vita/Win for
Life” and with a wealth of online games, which are
enjoying great success with the public. We are also
developing new entertainment methods based on a
new retail concept, in which players’ enjoyment of
their own individual, secure and pleasurable space is
combined with leading-edge technology to achieve
a fun game environment and heightened social
relationships in a typically Italian style.
Loyalty is another desired goal. A player is loyal when
he or she places trust in a brand and its products.
This trust is a priceless asset for the company—an
achievement that takes years of hard work. Sisal
has built up its success over 60 years of operation,
continuous innovation and knowledge of its players.
It was Sisal in 1946 that initiated the modern gaming
industry in Italy, inventing the Sisal pools coupon,
which later became “Totocalcio”, the first major Italian
pool game now famous worldwide. Today Sisal is
among the world’s ten leading lottery operators and
is continuing on its path of innovation by introducing
enormously successful games such as “SuperEnalotto”
and “Vinci per la Vita/Win for Life”. Sisal is also
recognised by the Italian public for its inherent
qualities: its serious approach, its solidity and its deep
roots in Italian territory. In the collective imagination of
Italians, it stands for the gaming world par excellence.
Better communication comes from a mix
of several ploys: Marketing, distribution
(Sisal has reinforced its distribution channel
with over 35,000 POS), and close attention
to responsible gaming operations. It is also
seen as fundamental that communication
should be two-way, establishing a dialogue
with the players and constantly listening
to their requests, needs and preferences.
Over the past few years Sisal has launched
major information campaigns with the
aim of bringing product news to the public
at large and reinforcing the Sisal brand.
This approach has given our products
great visibility. Another front to which
Sisal devotes a great deal of effort is that of
Responsible Gaming. Sisal has launched a
cross-media campaign that, together with
other awareness-raising activities, is directed
towards informing players and encouraging
responsible gambling behaviour. We do not
neglect any channel, but adopt a multi-media
approach, using as the key points of contact
with the end customer both the traditional
media such as TV, press, radio, posters, as
well as events and sponsorship, and also the
web, the point of sale and new forms of less
conventional communication.
Sisal Match Point, the company within the Sisal
Group that manages horse and sports betting, offers
online gaming accounts into which players can make
cash deposits and start playing immediately. The
gaming account is regulated by law and is a virtual
player card, always available, convenient, secure and
easy to use. The same player card can be used for
all the other Sisal online games such as poker, skill
games, Bingo and also “SuperEnalotto” and “Vinci
per la Vita/Win for Life”. Any wins are credited to
that account. The account can be opened over the
Internet, but also at any Sisal point of sale. This online
offer presents constant promotions, so that players
can take part in several consecutive competitions or
games, with opportunities to win attractive prizes. By
keeping players interested in the game mix, the Sisal
gaming platform becomes the select gaming choice.
On the subject of services in a more general sense,
it should not be forgotten that our players can also
call upon more than 340 active services to meet their
everyday needs, such as paying taxes and utilities
bills, recharging their mobiles and making practical,
speedy and secure purchases of telephone cards.
All these services are available at the Sisal network
points of sale and managed online through the
gaming terminal.
As regards the national toto digital games, such
as “SuperEnalotto” and “Vinci per la Vita/Win for
Life”, we have conducted in-depth research that
has demonstrated how players’ tastes are changing.
For example, players are looking for larger wins
and new forms of entertainment, as well as the
possibility of spreading a win over a number of years.
Sisal always keeps a close eye on the evolution of
gaming trends, allowing the company to successfully
develop products that match the expectations.
A typical case has been “Vinci per la Vita/Win for
Life”, a game offering large numbers of wins and also
the first game in Italy to promote the concept of a
reward in the form of an income. Upon the request
of the Italian Government, a game formula was to be
created to provide aid to the communities impacted
by the earthquake in the Abruzzo region, in the form
of payment received from the entire tax on ticket sales
or 23%.
Special attention is given to enhance what those sales
points recognise as being high level services: Contact
Center, Logistics, Internet Services, and more. All
the corporate Business Units at various levels are
working actively to transcribe the market trends into
products that match players’ expectations. Also, we
have set up special focus groups with our principal
retailers to discuss all the issues associated with
product innovation. To maintain a constant quality
in our services, we have recruited over 100 new
people in 2009 to reinforce the management team,
especially in the commercial, marketing and online
areas.
The attention paid to security takes the form of
the adoption in full of the Responsible Gambling
programme of the monopoly authority, the
Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato
(AMMS), which has led to the outcome of designing
and adopting the slogan “Play it right” [“Gioca il
giusto”] to stress the need for a careful, alert approach
to gambling. Another important security point has
been the “18+” mark, reinforcing the message that
games are not permitted to underage players. We have
also launched a series of awareness measures aimed
at players and POS managers, and we are extending
the initiatives in this area even further. Sisal makes
a very careful selection of the sales network and the
managers of points of sale, investing in their training
on the subject of Responsible Gambling through the
Sisal Academy, an actual training school for future
POS managers, so that they can offer a consistently
efficient service. Sisal supports in-house training for
its employees to foster the development of a more
mature mentality as regards the gaming sector.
The POS operators in the Sisal network regularly
notify us of the public’s perception of our products.
TO THE FULLEST SATISFACTION
IF PLAYERS ARE SATISFIED,
THE AUSTRIAN LOTTERIES ARE TOO
PLAYER SATISFACTION AND ADAPTATION OF
OUR GAMES TO THE WISHES AND NEEDS OF
PLAYERS ARE AN IMPORTANT CONCERN TO
US. FOR THIS REASON, THE AUSTRIAN LOTTERIES DO REGULAR CUSTOMER SURVEYS,
ARE IN CONSTANT TOUCH WITH THEIR DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS, USE STATE-OF-THEART TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANISE EVENTS
ON “RESPONSIBLE GAMING”.
Once a year, the so-called “Gaming Monitor” is
commissioned. On the one hand, the survey aims at
identifying what is in general important to customers
in gaming, such as issues of security, amounts
wagered, comprehensible rules or societal aspects.
On the other hand, the survey also looks into how
well the individual products of the Austrian Lotteries
are accepted, and what the specific demands of the
respective target groups are. Moreover, the Austrian
Lotteries also launch qualitative surveys on certain
games and their impact or advertising. In this
context, participants are polled for their opinion on
appeal and image, on recall or brand impact. The
outcome of polls and surveys help us develop our
products and assist in designing and adapting them
in accordance with customer needs.
State-of-the-art technology and the latest online
terminals significantly enhance customer satisfaction.
The fans of lotto “6 out of 45” have enjoyed the game
for 24 years, and they are very happy with it.
© Andreas Friess
© Peter Svec
Individual attention to the wishes of customers
and interested parties, in particular as regards their
expectations in terms of privacy and data protection,
is an overriding principle of the Austrian Lotteries
in the way they handle data. Special requirements
specific to data protection, such as the fundamental
permissibility of all data processing,
the earmarking of data collections, and
considerations of transparency for those
concerned are fully taken into account.
Although Austrian businesses are under no
legal obligation to appoint a data protection
ombudsperson, we have had for a long time
an employee with full-time responsibility
for this task. He helps reconcile the
legitimate wishes of our customer for
the protection of a person’s rights, and
he business needs of customer-oriented
marketing.
We are a reliable partner of our distributors,
supporting them by offering active support
from our sales reps or innovations and an
expanded range of games. Sales reps visit the
retailers they have been assigned to every six
to eight weeks on average to support them
with advice. Moreover, the Austrian Lotteries
foster the development of their distribution partners
by means of regular training and assistance in terms
of sales strategy or technical novelties.
For their customers, the Austrian Lotteries are a
dynamic and modern enterprise that spearheads
technical developments. State-of-the-art online
terminals, two independent computer centres
and the latest technology ensure that games are
trustworthy, transparent and secure – much to the
benefit of customer confidence and satisfaction.
Player satisfaction goes hand in hand with player
protection. The Austrian Lotteries set great store by
players’ perception of being well taken care of and
this includes information on the dangers of gaming
and protection from them. As we seek to offer the
best possible training to those employees who are in
direct contact with customers, the Austrian Lotteries
and Casinos Austria jointly organise the Responsible
Gaming Academy every year. The event is a special
forum for scientists and scholars, where national
and international experts from various fields engage
in the topic of responsible gaming and enter into a
dialogue with employees of the Austrian Lotteries
and Casinos Austria.
CEO Dr. Karl Stoss opening the 7th
Responsible Gaming Academy organised by Casinos Austria and the
Austrian Lotteries in May 2010.
© Österreichische Lotterien
Ever since their formation, the Austrian Lotteries
have had a customer service centre in place: it is a
central one-stop shop for customers, retailers and
business partners of the enterprise. This is where
customers and distribution partners get extensive
support (personally, by phone, in writing or by
e-mail), and queries, which cannot be answered on
the spot, are passed on to the persons in charge.
Martina LANDSMANN
Günter ENGELHART
Austrian Lotteries/Corporate Communications
A LIFETIME OF CUSTOMER
CARE FOR SKL BIG WINNERS
The Süddeutsche Klassenlotterie (SKL) is a traditional
class-lottery and is based in Munich. Ticket sales are
exclusively handled by sales organizations, which
currently include about 100 licensed state lottery agents
and 940 official points of sales. These sales agents
normally are in contact with their customers at least
once a month usually in writing. 97 % of the turnover
is generated through direct marketing. Due to this sales
structure, the SKL does not have access to all of its
clients’ data on the players, but the sales partners do.
This lottery data is exceptionally extensive and forms
the basis for classic CRM: The background of the players
is documented with their precise address, age, gender
and the type and amount of their game participation. In
addition to this database, further information about the
players’ habits can be obtained: duration of the game
participation, readiness for up und cross-selling offers,
behaviour after winnings and information about the
potential for reactivating game participation in case it
had been ended. By observing the gaming behaviour,
problematic behaviour can be analyzed and studied.
The sales partners take advantage of this data as far as
legally permitted.
Besides this, SKL regularly carries out quantitative
and qualitative market research on 7 levels.
Particulary noteworthy are measures that are carried
out directly with the customers and especially
with the big jackpot winners (“SKL-MillionärsClub”/“SKL-Millionaires Club“).
LEVEL 1 involves (for all games) broad questioning of
the general motivation for the participation in games
of chance, lotteries and the attitude or needs of the
different types of players. The results established
through market research and surveys of the players’
wishes and requests are taken into consideration,
with regard to the planning of the product and market
communication. That information enables SKL a
strategic observation of any potential in the advertising
environment as well as an ongoing evaluation of our
game offer.
On LEVEL 2, SKL carries out a yearly player survey,
only with active players, in the framework of an
already existing household panel. Thereby, besides
the questions on the general consumer mood, special
questions are asked about the SKL game offers, the
lottery handling and the satisfaction with customer
service by state lottery agents and points of sales.
Another method to learn more about the players and
their level of satisfaction is to research the real winners
on LEVEL 3. With two product lines, the SKL EUROJOKER and the SKL TRAUM-JOKER (“SKL-DREAMJOKER”), only non-cash prizes such as high-end cars or
travels can be won. Shortly after a win, inquiries about
players’ satisfaction evaluate various aspects, based
on a standard questionnaire. As regards the content,
winners are asked about the attractiveness and quality
of the prizes, the SKL products, the customer service
and handling of the prize payment by lottery agents
or points of sales, the game participation as well as the
socio-economic aspects. The gathered information
is funnelled into the future game planning for the
selection of new non-cash prizes and services.
On LEVEL 4, SKL also carries out interviews/surveys
of their sales partners and points of sales. This is mainly
done by phone to analyze customer acceptance and
relevance with regard to the advertising methods
used to sell SKL products. The results of the survey are
then reflected in the planning and future creation of
advertising approaches.
On LEVEL 5, customer behaviour is also analyzed by
the sales organisation itself. The available data and
the player/game behaviour can thereby be evaluated
over a long period. The knowledge can be used in
combination with geo marketing to design offers aimed
at specific target groups or up- and cross-selling offers.
Finally, often a questionnaire is sent to the player or a
phone conversation takes place after a cancellation
has been received to try to find out the real motivation
behind that decision to end his/her participation in a
game. Sometimes this is a key-approach to gain back
the customer.
Customer satisfaction often reveals customer
dissatisfaction. To intervene here, the SKL has, on
LEVEL 6, set up a customer service centre in Munich
where all questions and complaints are centralized, and
then clarified and answered. Afterwards, the subject of
any dissatisfaction can be discussed with the concerned
sales agent and improved on.
IN THIS CONTEXT, THE “PREMIER CLASS” ON
LEVEL 7 ALSO CALLED “SKL MILLIONAIRES
CLUB” SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTED. Numerous SKL
shows candidates have won millions in the TV Shows
“Seeking Millionaire” and “5 Million SKL Show” seen
live by millions of TV viewers, showing that the dream
of a millionaire’s life can eventually come true for SKL
players. Therefore it is important for SKL that these
millionaires, who also receive their prizes in public
during a drawing show, are cared for exclusively. The
SKL is the only lottery in the world to offer special
assistance to its millionaires, not only right after
handing over the winnings, but also for a lifetime in the
form of continuous advices and practical support. This
assistance helps the winners with their dealing with the
media as well as in the field of asset investment and
taxation. For this reason, SKL founded in 2005 the “SKL
Millionaires Club”, which is chaired by a former winner
of a show.
THE “SKL MILLIONAIRES CLUB”, WHICH MEETS
ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, IS A POPULAR
EXCHANGE PLATFORM IN THAT IT REPRESENTS
AN
EXAMPLE
FOR
TRUE
“WINNERSCOMMUNITY”, BUT IT IS ALSO ACTIVE IN
“CORPORATE
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY”.
Meetings organized by SKL allow us, the winners of
SKL Millionaire Shows and the general public to make
contact with each other to exchange their experiences,
share financial advices but most importantly form
friendships. Furthermore, depending on the event, a
certain sum earmarked for a good cause will be donated.
During the official part, the press is also admitted
thus permitting the image of lottery millionaires
to be updated / revised. It is often suggested that
winning millions changes one’s life dramatically.
Lottery advertisement worldwide contributes to this
impression. In our view, this is the wrong image. From
all the intensive ongoing contacts with the “Millionaires
Club”, we have come to the conclusion that winners,
even after winning several millions, basically remain
the same persons as they were before. However,
winning millions makes them more relaxed and more
content by allowing them to continue doing, perhaps
more intensively, all those things which have always
been important to them, or even discover and develop
new facets in their lives. It is never only about senseless,
pretentious spending of money. The winners are also
socially more responsible than the image often given
by the lotteries. What it means for our communication
is that we should represent and portray the aspects of
winning and luck in a totally new quality. As a result, for
the first time SKL has presented in Germany a “Tag des
Glücks” (“Day of Luck and Fortune”) this May. On this
day we have portrayed different aspects of luck/fortune/
happiness and in the evening during a large live event,
we have created a new Drawing Show for this “Day of
Luck and Fortune” featuring another winner who will
become a new member of the “SKL Millionaires Club”.
A specific service presented by SKL is that every winner
must be informed personally about his winning in
writing either by his lottery agent or his point of sales.
SKL sales outlets also carry out different customer
loyalty and retention programs such as mailing of
a monthly newsletter or a customer magazine. SKL
furthermore offers services to all players, such as
announcement of the current draw results in the media,
via Teletext, SMS and online as well as the creation of
an official winners list, which is sent to the customers
every month. This is another way to keep regularly in
touch with our customer base.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
OF COMMUNICATION:
KEY IN CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION AT NKL
The mystery e-mail analysis was based on regular
e-mail contacts. For this purpose, typical customer
enquiries were sent to the NKL by e-mail. The original
enquiry, the confirmation lottery e-mails and replies
were documented in detail and analysed according to
modern standards. Besides the so-called hard factors
such as for example response time and accuracy,
subjective factors also played a role: friendliness,
readiness to provide information, and much more
that give the lottery e-mail a personal touch.
Ulrich Kudlek, Head of Customers Service at NKL.
The German Nordwestdeutsche Klassenlotterie
(NKL), based in Hamburg, receives numerous enquiries from players as well as potential customers
every day, thus requiring the Lottery staff to manage
quick replies while ensuring full consumer satisfaction. Most enquiries are done via e-mail, which are
processed and answered by a small team in the customer service department.
In order to better serve its clientele, the NKL has established high quality service criteria, whose compliance is monitored. On a regular basis, the Lottery
conducts reviews of these service requirements and
if necessary, adapts them to fit changing consumer
expectations as well as market conditions.
As e-mail communication at the NKL has been
steadily growing, so have customers’ requirements
and expectations. In order to improve and secure
customer satisfaction, and fully respond to new
customer orientation, it was decided recently to
hire an external institute to carry out a “mystery” email survey. Thereby, based on objective criteria and
comparison with competing organizations, a neutral body should examine if and particularly how the
NKL responds to e-mail enquiries in order to identify
strengths as well as potential for improvement. The
aim of the study is to measure the quality of the service by rating the response time as well as the hard
and soft factors of e-mail correspondence.
The test project was carried out in five phases:
• Development of actual and everyday scenarios
• Creation of e-mail enquiries with sample replies
and level of expectations
• Test implementation, e-mail documentation
• Processing and analysis of the data
• Presentation of results and recommendations to
the management
The conclusion of the test evaluation showed
overall good results in all test fields. It is
therefore primarily essential to maintain a
high level of service through the required
organisational and personnel requirements and to
regularly improve where possible.
ONCE: TRADITIONAL
CUSTOMER RELATIONS
AND NEW COMPLEMENTARY
SALES CHANNELS
The Spanish market has entered a stage of maturity
due mainly to difficulties reaching new customers
and products offered through specialized sales
channels.
In the upcoming years, what will be at stake for
ONCE in terms of customers’ relation will be, first,
to satisfy the regular customers by emphasizing even
more their contribution to good causes as a main
reason to play ONCE, and also by offering more
possibilities of easier number selection as well as
more attractive products. In consequence, we are
trying to provide a more pleasant game environment
and elements of surprise and variety in our game mix
by presenting games, unknown until recently to the
Spanish market, such as Keno. Second, make every
effort to implement products where the customers
are. In order to achieve this objective, ONCE has
started to market its instant and active products
via new channels and in stores in accordance with
new ways of mass consumption: tobacconists, gas
stations, shopping centers, newspapers stands, etc.
Obviously, the way to bring to mind our products is
through multimedia-based promotional campaigns:
TV ads, POS advertising, radio and Internet presence.
We have also taken a new step in our relationship
with customers by participating in different social
networks thanks to the latest communication
technology. We have an active sales channel on
Internet at www.juegosonce.com and a window in
the social network Facebook, called “juegosonce” in
which we are trying to communicate with our clients
and tip the knowledge gained by experience and
training in the lottery world.
Nevertheless, the people at the core of our
relationship with customers are ONCE vendors.
There are the disabled or blind persons who are the
very reasons behind the organisation’s existence and
its constant search for ways to improve the quality
of life and assistance to people with disability. The
ONCE vendor is a person living the daily grind in our
cities and villages. His mission also is to be in direct
contact with our clients, receive their suggestions,
support the collectivity and offer dream and hope
through our products.
The ATL communication and the sales networks are
the two most important keys in the relationship with
clients in addition to Internet. Also, the challenge
for ONCE in the next few years will be essentially to
strengthen its responsible game operations. To this
effect, we have reinforced the training of employees
and detailers as well as our relation with interest
groups. The implementation of responsible game
and security standards are two benchmarks that will
ensure maximum quality for our services.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION,
A FUTURE CHALLENGE
AT NORSK TIPPING
The Norwegian gaming market is in decline.
Nevertheless, Norsk Tipping operations have great
success with a growing market share, allowing us to
have regained our position as the market’s dominant
player. The main drivers behind this revitalization are
for one the closure of the traditional slot machines
operations, and then the implementation and rise of
a new VLT-based offer with Norsk Tipping as the sole
operator.
Our mandate is to present attractive games in a secure
manner to the Norwegian population, so in this
perspective, customer satisfaction is more important
than ever. We deal with customer satisfaction in
many ways based on a very competitive strategy.
THE PLAYER’S CARD:
For the last years we have managed to evolve our
player’s card to it’s third generation (Smartcard). In
2009, this card played a key role when we introduced
our mandatory registered gaming feature for all our
games, except scratch tickets. In addition to offering
high security and total age regulations, this card
gave us a tremendous opportunity to improve our
relations with our customers. Through our costumer
data we have accurate information about the single
customer’s gaming behaviour and preferences.
Today 56 % of all Norwegians are paid subscribers to
have their own customer card.
REGULAR MARKET RESEARCH:
Annually, Norsk Tipping carry out studies to
measure the customer’s satisfaction on our products
and services. These studies, linked with
a range of other market researches, give
Norsk Tipping a unique knowledgebase
from which to develop new actions thus
aiming to improve satisfaction levels and
develop player incentives to improve their
relationship with our brand.
MULTICHANNEL CUSTOMER DIALOG:
Any improvement must be communicated
to increase the performance-to-satisfaction
ratio: Newsletters, segmented by categories,
are regularly e-mailed to customers;
SMS messages are also sent and regular
appearance on social networking sites
such as Facebook and Twitter has become
essential in our efforts to communicate
with customers.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:
To improve our interaction with customers
and better answer their needs, we are
focusing on improving our products
through innovation, new alternative
distribution channels and more valueadded services.
DIALOGUE WITH PLAYERS:
A REWARDING NECESSITY
FOR THE ROMANIAN LOTTERY
A continued dialogue with players offers the most
accurate benchmark for improving the quality of our
services and products together with increasing the
number of clients. Whether it is about customers’
expectations and suggestions or their need for
information, our Lottery is constantly concerned
with improving communication with players. While
we financially sponsor social activities to respond to
community needs, we have specifically designed a
company policy and targeted product mix to satisfy
our players’ precise requirements.
In order to get an accurate picture of the public
perceptions, our Lottery carries out, at least once a
year, a market research. By closely monitoring the
players’ satisfaction, our management team can take
appropriate actions in order to meet players’ needs.
As such, we have been asked about upgrading lottery
agencies and we are in the process of rebranding our
entire retail network. With this action, we are creating
a friendly and modern environment, improving
playing conditions and communication with players
within each agency.
and regulations, the players have access to special
guides either in lottery agencies or on our website
www.loto.ro. The website is constantly updated and
improved so it can provide detailed information
regarding our activities and products. The feedback
from our players is positive and encouraging and
we have registered a growing number of visitors on
the website. In order to meet our players’
expectations, we have also created a specialized
website: www.pariloto.ro, about the Parillotto, a
fixed-odd game. Another source of information for
our players and effective way of communication is
our magazine, Loto Prono, which is edited by our
company and sold in all lottery agencies. In 2009 the
magazine celebrated its 3,000th issue.
Our relentless concern to meet the players’ needs is
reflected in the high level of degree in awareness and
confidence the Romanian public has for our Lottery.
Based on the latest marketing study, our Lottery is
considered the most valuable Romanian brand.
Special focus is given to provide proper training to our
sales people in Lotto agencies with special courses.
Also, to ensure complete information about lottery
products and understanding of the gaming rules
LOTERIJA SLOVENIJE:
A SECURE AND
QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE
Every 2 years, Loterija Slovenije contracts a company
to conduct a market research, whose data are used
in the development of new products and improved
service. In addition, we rely on mystery shopping
to analyze public perception of the quality of our
services and players’ satisfaction with our retail
shops, our sales staff, etc. We then adapt our services
accordingly to improve our operations and get closer
to our players. Independent laboratories also test our
products before their placement in the market. Plus,
we organize focus groups and use their findings and
recommendations to recalibrate our services.
Internal research surveys are conducted more
often, involving both our retailers and our players.
They determine the level of satisfaction among all
groups and allow us to obtain useful information
about players’ needs. Every two weeks, we also
publish on our website a questionnaire asking
our players to rate some of our current activities:
certain games, their gaming preferences, socially
responsible gambling, etc. These data are taken
into account when we plan future games and every
time we evaluate the value of our customer service.
SMS and email messages keep players in the loop; of
course, traditional media and Internet advertising
is used and from time to time, we organize special
gaming events for the players. As for future activities,
we are looking into players’ loyalty projects such as
e-CRM (for online players), which will be extended
to all players.
Our mission is to come closer to our players to better
understand and satisfy their expectations. Therefore
much attention is devoted to the quality and safety
of our services and the professionalism of our
vendors. Another milestone has been the creation of
a Customer Relationship Department where players
can access virtually any information related to
Loterija Slovenije. We acknowledge the importance
of social responsibility and this feature is woven into
all levels of business management and processes
as well as in our business ethics. We are dedicated
to balance both our players’ expectations and the
protection of vulnerable groups.
Of course, we depend on our POS because our
retailers are extremely important in acquiring
firsthand detailed information on market behaviour
and are a key element to help us design the most
efficient customer approach. Following the
introduction of Internet games in March 2010, we
also process information on e-players to prepare
tailored messages for them. Our surveys are
extremely detailed and according to their results
we can upgrade or totally change our existing game
offer.
Our communication channels involve our players,
our employees as well as our retail network and make
extensive use of every marketing effort: At POS, this
is the staff’s personal contact and printed materials;
on Internet, we deal with e-players but on Intranet,
we make sure our sales people offer the most
informative and efficient data to our players. We also
rely on our Call Centre for direct contact with players.
A LOYALTY CLUB FOR
IMPROVED CUSTOMER
SERVICE AT SAZKA
SAZKA is facing hundreds of licensed operators,
providing all sorts of games of chance and sports
bets, throughout the Czech Republic. Furthermore,
a number of Internet operators are now active on
the market illegally, offering full games portfolio. To
counteract this competition and maintain its market
share, SAZKA makes all efforts to understand and
satisfy its player base.
SAZKA has been conducting marketing surveys
that focus on players, market potential, as well as
competitors and its own advertising campaigns,
for many years. We conduct qualitative as well
as quantitative marketing research: We seek and
implement modern research techniques such as
online blogs, ad spot analyses by eye tracking,
thematic focus groups with providers from our
distribution network, ethnographic methods of
gaming behaviour research, in-depth interviews
with specific player groups, etc. Analysing the
development of the timelines of data from marketing
research, we monitor changes in player preferences
and shopping behaviours. Accordingly, we adjust
our product offer of both lottery and non-lottery
products. As a result, we added numerous products
to our portfolio over the past years such as fast-draw
games – the five-minute Keno, Lucky Lines and
Dice, VLT terminals, Internet odds betting, as well
as a number of non-lottery products such as mobile
phone top-up, bill payment and ticket sales services.
We communicate with players at POS (TV
presentations, printed materials, staff), on the
Internet (via the www.sazka.cz websites) and through
promotional campaigns (press, TV, radio, POS). Last
year, we introduced another communication tool:
The Loyalty Club, which marked a fundamental
change in the quality of our customer service. At
first, the Club was primarily designed for players
of Internet odds betting and over time its scope
expanded to include players of conventional
lotteries and non-lottery customers. Through
the Club, we evaluate the data as to customers’
purchases to help us further improve our services.
With the introduction of the Loyalty Club, we had to
plan a huge training campaign for all our retailers to
teach them about the Club and how to use the new
terminal application.
Customers who are members of the Club earn loyalty points for their bets. These points may be used
for more betting, for attaining better odds, for shopping in the e-shop or for purchases at e-auctions.
Customers also earn loyalty points for participating
in marketing surveys, for bringing a new member to
the Club and for certain other events.
AT CAMELOT,
THE CONSUMER IS BOSS
As operator of the UK National Lottery, Camelot’s
strategic goal is to maximise returns to the Good
Causes through selling lottery games in an efficient
and socially responsible way. Camelot manages the
lottery infrastructure, provides services for players,
runs a 28,500-strong retail network and the world’s
most successful lottery website. As well as offering
a wide range of draw-based games and Instant Play
games, Camelot also offers its players innovative new
ways to play National Lottery games, including the
pioneering National Lottery ‘Fast Pay’ card, which
lets players store their favourite numbers or use a
Lucky Dip option on a handy, re-useable card, and
a groundbreaking Play by Text mobile phone service.
A national institution, the National Lottery is part
of the fabric of life for millions of players in the UK.
Around 70% of the country’s adult population play on
a regular basis. Therefore, as a responsible operator,
maintaining public trust is of utmost importance for
Camelot, as is maintaining a constant dialogue with
players. Through forums and surveys, together with
player feedback from its dedicated customer service
centre and winner services team, Camelot is able to
gain valuable insight into the gaming habits of its
consumers.
The company’s business mantra – the consumer is
boss – lies at the heart of Camelot’s long-term strategy
for growth. Responding to consumer needs is key,
and Camelot’s strategy focuses on: strengthening the
National Lottery brand to offer universal appeal to
all types of consumer; enhancing the product range
and continually diversifying its products to better
satisfy customer need; giving consumers easy access
to games wherever and whenever they want to
play; and building and maintaining a dialogue with
consumers.
The views of consumers play a major part in
formulating National Lottery products and services.
For example, UK Millionaire Raffle – an enhancement
to the ever-popular EuroMillions game that
guarantees a £1 million prize to one UK winner every
single week – was launched in 2009 because players
indicated that they wanted more UK winners and
bigger jackpots.
It is important for Camelot to maintain the trust of
players and the wider public. Its games are designed
to be fun but also safe, and player protection lies
at the heart of the company’s game development.
Working with respected social scientists, academics,
market researchers and problem-gambling bodies
such as GamGard, Camelot has pioneered a research
and design tool – the Game Design Protocol – which
is used to measure a new game according to its play
potential among vulnerable groups – namely those
aged under 16, low income groups and people with
addictive tendencies. If there is a clear danger to
any of those groups, Camelot will act accordingly to
adapt, re-design or withdraw the game.
Camelot’s strategy is to encourage consumers to play
often but to spend relatively little, a strategy which
means that despite being the sixth largest lottery in
the world in terms of total sales, the UK National
Lottery is just 64th in terms of sales per capita. The
company works hard to ensure that its consumers
are aware of game mechanics and odds of winning
a prize. Rules and procedures for each game are
detailed in an in-store Players Guide, on play slips
as well as on the National Lottery website. Camelot
also offers a dedicated customer service centre
for players: in 2009, the team dealt with 94% of the
130,000 calls made to the National Lottery player
telephone line in 20 seconds or less.
Camelot has also recently increased its use of digital
platforms - digital billboards, in-store media screens,
banner advertising, online and email campaigns to
subscribers - to enhance its ability to communicate
the right message to the right players and at the
right time. Broadcast channels with smarter and
more targeted messages are also part of a direct
communication approach.
Accounting for around 90% of total sales, retail
remains the largest National Lottery sales channel
and provides the biggest consumer touch-point.
Each and every retailer acts as an advocate for The
National Lottery and Camelot’s commitment to
its retail partners remains at the forefront of its
commercial strategy. Camelot provides retailers all
the equipment, training and support packages they
require, free of charge.
Although Camelot plays no role in the allocation
of funding to the Good Causes, it also works with
the National Lottery Promotions Unit (NLPU) to
effectively communicate to players about how
money raised through National Lottery games is
distributed, and to raise awareness of lottery-funded
activity such as the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
The UK National Lottery creates around four million
winners every week. A big win on The National
Lottery can be life changing, and to help winners
adapt to their new circumstances, cope with the
excitement of a big win and the extra attention that
it affords, Camelot provides a number of support
services. Anyone who wins more than £50,000
receives a winner’s pack with information on legal,
financial and practical matters. For winners of
£350,000 or more, Camelot offers a range of support
services including access to impartial financial and
legal advice from independent experts, and practical
guidance about lifestyle changes. No matter the
size of the win, every winner has the right to remain
anonymous and Camelot’s Winner Services team
and Press Office works hard to advise winners on
what to expect if they choose to go public. Support
and advice are not limited to the period directly
following a win and remain available for many years
afterwards.
creative; empowering to encourage individualism
and independence; ownership - understanding the
vision and goals of Camelot; partnership - working
with all groups to maximise returns in a socially
responsible way; passionate and accountable.
Camelot’s strategy of responsible play, coupled with
listening to its consumers and delivering a regularly
refreshed portfolio of games and convenient new
ways to play, is certainly paying dividends. A huge
92% of the UK’s population recognise The National
Lottery crossed finger logo, and the most recent core
brand metrics available for the 2009/10 financial
year show that trust levels in The National Lottery
brand remain high at 73%. Alongside a strong sales
performance – last year Camelot delivered its second
best sales performance (£5,451.8m) since launch,
and the best returns to the Good Causes (£1,548.4m)
in a decade – this helps to show that at a time when
consumer confidence in many public institutions
has been severely dented by the economic crisis,
the National Lottery brand goes from strength to
strength by offering the very highest levels of player
satisfaction.
The dedication of Camelot’s staff is also vital to
the achievement of the company’s long-term
strategy and its commitment to player satisfaction
and maintaining player trust in the integrity of
The National Lottery. The company believes it is
important for the staff to understand how its values
work in practice, so it has defined behaviours that
embed these values into its day-to-day operations:
A SUCCESSFUL SPANISH
PRESIDENCY PAVES THE WAY FOR
AN AMBITIOUS BELGIAN AGENDA
Since the second semester of 2008,
a Council Working Group has been
discussing the issue of gambling
services in the EU. That is not new
in 2010. What is however new is that,
under the Spanish Presidency (JanuaryJune 2010), all EU Member States’
positions were aligned on some very
key issues regarding the fight against
illegal gambling. When we say “all EU
Member States”, we mean of course “all
except for Malta”.
Under the lead of Juan Carlos Alfonso
Rubio (general counsel of LAE), the
Spanish Presidency aimed at a very
ambitious goal, and achieved it: a
common definition between the EU
Member States on what is actually to
be considered to be “illegal gambling”.
After some very constructive exchanges
in the Establishment and Services
Working Party, Member States have
amongst others indeed agreed on a
common understanding of a shared
definition of illegal gambling: illegal
gambling may be defined as gambling
in which operators do not comply
with the national law of the country
where the services are offered, provided
those national laws are in compliance
with the EU Treaty principles. Within
the Council Working Party itself, even
Malta seemed to agree with this shared
definition.
Later on, however, this seemed to have
been a slip of the tongue, as the Maltese
government presented a statement to
the Competitiveness Council on May
25, in which it declared not to subscribe
to the definition on illegal gambling
as proposed within the Presidency
Progress Report as this will apply “the
concept of illegality to operators who
may have been licensed by one Member
State and not by another”. Moreover, in
the same statement, Malta made sure
to mention that it “has one of the most
advanced regulatory regimes, which is
in full compliance with European Union
legislation, and has developed strong
standards in this sector, primarily in the
area of social responsibility”. We were
not that surprised when we heard this,
it confirms yet again that Maltese law
schools teach a different kind of EU law
than in the rest of Europe.
In any case, it seems Malta has got itself
quite isolated from the 26 other EU
Member States and it doesn’t find any
help in the recent case law of the Court
of Justice of the European Union to back
its position neither. Indeed, in the recent
Swedish Sjöberg and Gerdin rulings, and
Dutch Betfair and Ladbrokes rulings,
the Court has confirmed that EU
Member States are justified to restrict
or prohibit the access to their market
for foreign companies who operate on
the basis of a license granted by the
authorities of their country of origin.
Furthermore, the Court acknowledged
that a passive sales approach, whereby
the games of a foreign operator are
accessible to the consumers in another
country – where he didn’t obtain a
national authorisation to operate –
through the Internet, can be prohibited
as it undermines the general interest
objectives of a restrictive gambling
regime. In the Sjöberg and Gerdin cases,
the Court added that the prohibition
of promotion of the gambling services
of private operators indeed reflect the
objective of exclusion of private-profit
making interests from the gambling
sector and may be regarded as necessary
to meet such an objective.
LEGAL
Philippe Vlaemminck
BUT WHERE IS MALTA?
document of the Commission, outlining
the key questions regarding gambling
in an EU context. It is expected to be
published by mid November.
Annick Hubert
After the Liga Portuguesa ruling, at least
6 other cases have confirmed the same
principles to apply to the gambling sector,
all excluding mutual recognition and all
prohibiting a passive sales approach. This
case law has clearly made an end to the
practise of gambling hubs like Malta and
Gibraltar and leaves statements like the
one made by the Maltese government in
the Competitiveness Council completely
void.
The outcome of the German cases
Markus Stoss, Carmen Media and
Winner Wetten is expected to go in the
same direction. These rulings will be
delivered on 8 September 2010, exactly
one year after the delivery of the ruling
in the Portuguese case.
All EU Member States, this time including Malta, have supported the intention
of Internal Market Commissioner
Barnier to publish a Green Paper
on online gambling services. This
Green Paper would be a consultation
With the consultation document
of the Commission coming up, it is
an interesting momentum for the
Belgian Presidency to streamline the
discussions between the Member States
in the Establishment and Services
Working Group. At the time this article
went to press, one meeting of the
Council Working Party was already
held under the Belgian Presidency. Like
the Spanish, the Belgian Presidency
is ambitious, an approach which is
highly supported by the majority of the
Member States. The Belgian Presidency
will focus the discussions on three
main topics: outlining the concrete
problems regarding cross border
gambling services (including the issue
of white label sites, etc.), the role of the
national or regional authority and the
sustainable contribution of lotteries to
society.
only be considered to be a beneficial
consequence of a restrictive regime,
but cannot be a justification as such
of a restrictive gambling regime. To
emphasize the importance of the
sustainable contributions of lotteries
to society, the Belgian National Lottery
will organise a conference on November
16, under the auspices of the Belgian
Presidency of the EU.
With these high level Belgian Presidency
conferences, its ambitious agenda,
and the Commission consultation on
online gambling coming up, the second
semester of 2010 promises to be a very
interesting one for the gambling sector.
By Philippe VLAEMMINCK
& Annick HUBERT
A separate conference will be organised
by the Belgian Gambling Commission,
under the auspices of the Belgian
Presidency of the EU, on the specific
role of the authority. The aim is to
define essential tasks of the national or
regional competent authority, in order
to strictly regulate and control Internet
gambling in all EU Member States.
Moreover, for the first time, the
Council Working Group will discuss
the sustainable contributions made
by lotteries to society. This is an
important issue since the case law of
the European Court of Justice has ruled
that the financing of good causes can
LEGAL
“LOTERíAS Y APUESTAS
DEL ESTADO” SPONSORED THE
30TH SPORTS NATIONAL GALA
from sports, and more particularly from football”. He
assumed that “our commitment, as a Government, is
to develop this regulation and, within the framework
of the Communities principles, to acknowledge this
reality and to regulate it so that all the operators
enter a legal framework”. Regarding the economic
results of “La Quiniela”, Mr. Fernández pointed out
that “during the first two months of this year, there
has not been any decrease, but rather a growth”. He
recognized that, “in itself, this fact is not outstanding.
However, if you place it in the context we were
talking about earlier, namely new games options,
new operators, new methods of betting and a hard
economic situation, I think that we can remain
satisfied about it; at ‘Loterías y Apuestas del Estado’
in particular, we are”.
Gonzalo Fernández, General Director of "Loterías y Apuestas del Estado"
received the gold medal from Mari Carmen Izquierdo, President of the
Spanish Sports Press Association.
Last March 8th, the “Jameos del Agua” auditorium in
Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain) welcomed the 30th
edition of the Sport National Gala. Many political
leading figures attended the event: the President of
the Government of Canary Islands, Paulino Rivero,
the Secretary of State for Sports, Jaime Lissavetzky,
and the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee,
Alejandro Blanco. Gonzalo Fernández, General
Director of “Loterías y Apuestas del Estado”, main
sponsor of the event, was also among the attendees.
Mari Carmen Izquierdo, President of the Spanish
Sports Press Association (AEPD), delivered some
words during the lunch to point out that the AEPD
Board of Directors had decided to grant the gold
medal of the Spanish Sports Press Association to the
General Director of LAE.
Even if football is the main sport, many other
sports also need support and fans. Thus, the
collaboration of “Loterías y Apuestas del Estado”
covers an expended area and not only the football
world. “Our link with professional sport and the
Professional League is significant and productive,
nevertheless, our collaboration and economic
contribution go to other sectors, like Olympic sport,
financing of sports facilities thanks to funds we
pass down to Autonomous Communities, Councils,
Municipalities as well as to the young sportsmen’s
world”. In parallel, “La Quiniela” is the best-known
LAE’s sport betting, but it’s not the only one: Gonzalo
Fernández reminded of the presence of “El Quinigol”
and of horse betting, which improvement project,
he claimed, is already in process. Moreover, he
announced a renewed commitment with this sector
in order to keep on supporting turf in our country.
Gonzalo Fernández, thankful for this prize,
mentioned the actual European context, where
“new methods of sport betting and new distribution
channels” have emerged. Moreover, inside our own
territory, “Autonomous Communities like Madrid,
Basque Country and others have promoted and are
still promoting regulations and grant of licenses to
operators that are running types of betting that come
NEWS MEMBERS
A NEW PRESIDENT & CEO
FOR SZERENCSEJÁTÉK ZRT.
and later became Director of that Department in
Budapest. During this time, he acted as well as
visiting professor at the School of Economics of
Cegléd.
Kálmán Szentpétery, CEO.
The Hungarian State Holding Company officially
appointed Mr. Kálmán Szentpétery, Doctor in
Economics, as Chairman of the Board of Directors
and as CEO of Szerencsejáték Zrt., this past June.
Mr. Szentpétery is an economist who graduated
from the Karl Marx University of Economics in
Budapest. He has had an extensive professional
career in the financial and economy fields, working
for different well-known Hungarian companies. In
1976, he worked as Deputy Director of Operations
Management for the Water Mining and Drilling
Company in Cegléd. Between 1988 and 1996, he was
appointed Deputy Director of Finance and Economy
NEWS MEMBERS
In 1996, Mr. Szentpétery was offered the position of
Deputy General Director at the Budapest Wholesale
Market Co. Since 1998, he has been working as
External Member of the Budget Committee for the
Local Government of Cegléd City. From 1999 to early
2010, he was CEO of the Commission Trading House
and Pawn Credit Company and in 2000 he was also
elected as Member of the Board of Directors of that
company.
Due to his in-depth knowledge of finances and
economy, he was elected Member of the Presidential
Commission of “Aranykor” - a Pension Fund, in 2002
and since then he has been actively involved in the
work of the commission. Also, his strong interest in
sports brought him to become Chairman of Restart
–VSE, a water polo division in Cegléd.
Mr. Kálmán Szentpétery explains his vision to his
new post at Szerencsejáték Zrt.: “Managing a lottery
company brings a new challenge for me. I think and
believe that organizing any lottery games is based
on faith in the gaming organization and on the fact
that players’ confidence in the Lottery must never
be jeopardized under any circumstances. It is my
pleasure to become an active member of the great
lottery family, and I am absolutely determined that
Szerencsejáték Zrt. will work with EL in accordance
with the Association’s principles to ensure the
integrity of the Responsible Gaming Standards.”
INTRALOT MEETS THE
PLAYERS NEEDS GLOBALLY
OBJECTIVE
The kernel of all marketing activities
is the player. INTRALOT’s marketing is
shaped having as a core objective the
satisfaction of players’ needs, respecting
always the principles of responsible
gaming.
But what is meant by players’
satisfaction? Player satisfaction is an
emotional state that shows how games
and services supplied by a lottery,
meet or exceed players’ expectation.
In the lottery business the player’s
overall emotion depends on several
basic factors, which have to be always
examined
separately.
The
products / games, the retail network,
the communication / advertising
consist of such factors which require
constant monitoring and development
in the environment where the lottery
operates.
GAME
Game is the core element of a lottery.
Through a game players all over the
world buy chances to fulfill their
dreams. As with all games that we
are playing, our main goal is to win
and share this with others. While the
first prize has always been the most
significant element of a game, there
are players who find satisfaction in
other elements such as the easiness of
play, the excitement or even simply the
mechanism of a game.
Table 1: Primary Reasons for
Participating in a Game
Researched
country
Primary Reasons for
Italy
82%
South Africa
To win
87%
Turkey
money
75%
Vietnam
72%
Morocco
64%
Source: Intralot Researches
RETAIL NETWORK
Research has shown that the players
are loyal to a point of sale that is near
places visited during daily routine.
Proximity therefore appears to be the
most satisfactory element during a
POS selection. Adding to that, there
are players who prefer to play in a
specific place due to habitual reasons
or because they trust the owner and the
service offered.
Table 3: Primary Reasons for POS
Selection
Researched
country
Primary Reasons for POS
Selection
Italy
Turkey
Table 5: Primary Likes in a Lottery
Advertisement
Researched
country
South Africa
Amount of money to be won (83%)
Peru
Amount of money to be won (51%)
Mauritius
Information message (25%)
Morocco
Humor (48%)
Table 6: Secondary Likes in a Lottery
Advertisement
Researched
country
Secondary Likes
in a Lottery
Advertisement
Additional Likes
in a Lottery
Advertisement
South Africa
Winning numbers
(56%)
A lot of money (38%)
Peru
Slogan (36%)
The fun / pleasant
story (20%)
Mauritius
Actual prize to be
won (15%)
Humor (15%)
Morocco
Emphasis on product
credibility (31%)
Real people involved
(30%)
58%
POS proximity
69%
Vietnam
71%
Morocco
48%
Table 4: Secondary Reasons for POS
Selection
Secondary
for POS Selection
Italy
Turkey Vietnam Morocco
Place of trust
(32%)
(12%)
Habit
(25%)
Good service
(21%)
(23%)
(17%)
Clean place
(28%)
Quiet place
(28%)
COMMUNICATION
When a lottery wants to add value to its
games or to the organization itself, it all
depends on what the players want to
see; on what messages will trigger them
to participate. Research has shown that
advertisements, which show the top
prize to be won, trigger players and
enhance participation. Nevertheless,
high levels of satisfaction are reached
by humorous advertisements, or
advertisements emphasizing on game
credibility.
RESEARCH
Making a player happy is an ongoing
process, the quality of which largely
depends on the efficient transcription
of the latest trends into the right
products and services. INTRALOT
tests on a regular basis the level of
players’ satisfaction in terms of the
aforementioned examined factors,
while the generated data is processed in
a way to exceed players’ concerns and
needs.
Satisfying the player has never
been an easy task for any gaming
operator. Today’s constant changing
environment and the introduction of
new ways of gaming makes this task
even more difficult for Lotteries. Any
knowledge Lotteries had for the players
so far and any effort they have done to
capture the player, will be challenged
within the next years due to continuous
innovative game offering.
Table 2: Secondary Reasons for
Secondary
Reasons for
Participating in
a Game
Italy
South
Africa
Enjoy playing
(27%)
(8%)
Gives excitement
(19%)
Easy to play
Turkey
Vietnam
(8%)
(28%)
Mauritius
(11%)
Easy to win
(22%)
(58%)
Want more money
(36%)
Suitable ticket price
Morocco
(25%)
Dream of winning
Primary Likes in a Lottery
Advertisement
(16%)
PREMIUM PARTNERS
PLAYER
SATISFACTION
Developing products to meet the evolving gaming interests of players
has always required a commitment
to cutting-edge research and development. Over the past 13 years,
Scientific Games has established a
leadership position in this critical
function. In today’s Internet-connected
world, player preferences are changing
more rapidly than ever. At the same
time, the very dynamic of the Internet
has made it possible for Scientific
Games to tap far deeper than ever
into consumer behaviors and interests.
IT ALL STARTS WITH R&D
Over the years, Scientific Games has
invested aggressively in an in-house research team to support its commitment
to product research and development.
During this period, the company has
worked on over 1,100 research projects
and provided nearly $45 million in
research funding.
Today, our research focus includes
everything from grassroots, roll-upyour-sleeves observational studies
to
highly
sophisticated
surveys
that yield statistically valid quantitative
player data.
We regularly submit relevant and
topical lottery-specific questions that
are an integral part of a syndicated
questionnaire that is sent to 50,000
households. From this bi-annual survey,
we have compiled a large database
of consumer information enabling
us to drill deep beneath the surface
of lottery play to uncover solutions
that are actionable and not readily
identifiable through more traditional
research methods. Our researchers take
this information and work side-by-side
with our product development teams
to create products that satisfy player
needs and wants.
We also invest heavily in secondary
research. Combining sophisticated
marketing information systems with
our global base of customers allows
Scientific Games researchers to analyze
data in unique and actionable ways.
One such system is AEGIS-MAP, a secure,
interactive database containing global
instant game information designed to
help customers make the best possible
marketing and planning decisions.
With over 21,000 instant games,
over 760,000 weeks of sales data
and more than 14,000 ticket images,
Scientific Games account teams have
access to thousands of industry-wide
instant game records. No other system
can tell a lottery how a particular game
performed, generate sales reports or get
game artwork ideas quicker.
THE AGE OF THE LOTTERY CRM
Scientific Games sees the Internet as
the future, not just as an interactive
medium for delivering new forms of
gaming content, but, equally important,
as a marketing channel for tapping
far deeper than ever into consumer
behaviors and interests.
MDI Interactive is leading the charge in
this area for United States lotteries.
MDI Interactive is actively working with
our lottery customers transforming
their often fledgling VIP Clubs into
comprehensive and robust loyalty
marketing programs. These programs
create direct, Internet-based relationships with players. These relationships translate into huge volumes
of daily player interactions yielding
highly specific product interest and
game preference data.
ages Internet relationships in
order to take player understanding to the next level. Sciplay
has developed a Lottery Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) platform that tracks and
analyzes every online action,
including overall visits to the site,
time spent on the site, specific
games played and frequency,
informational ads clicked, and
more. These online behaviors
form each player’s extended
profile. As a result, behavior
segments are formed and these
segments can be micro-targeted
based on these gaming actions.
The end result is a deep, everevolving view of the player-base.
Over time, a clear understanding
of which games/themes/features/
payout matrices will grab player
attention begins to emerge, including
how to keep players engaged for
enhanced and extended play. This data
serves as a proxy for the “players’ voice”
– revealing not simply what they like,
but what they want.
The in-depth player segments that are
formed, tracked and analyzed serve
as the foundation for developing new
products. Sciplay’s product roadmap
is developed around actual behavior
segments, not just typical product
categories. New products, in essence,
can be far more directly matched to the
very things players are looking for.
“We strongly believe that investing in
research is important for staying in step
with the evolving needs and wants of
players and retailers,” says Rick Weil,
CEO and Managing Director of Sciplay.
“Our Lottery CRM platform gives the
lottery industry the ability to cull even
more relevant and useful information,
which will enable lotteries to enhance
the player experience and take player
satisfaction to a whole new level.”
Sciplay – the joint-venture company
comprised of gaming powerhouses
Scientific Games and Playtech – lever-
PREMIUM PARTNERS
RESPONSIBLE GAMING:
14 LOTTERIES ARE NOW CERTIFIED
Launched in 2007 and developed during 2008 by
the EL Responsible Gaming Working Group, the EL
Standards have been tested and validated by external
qualified organisations as well as recognised at
international level. Following this rigorous process,
the EL General Assembly, held in June 2009 in
Istanbul, overwhelmingly approved the Responsible
Gaming Certification Process.
These Standards were implemented to define
clearly the norms that every Lottery operator
in Europe should follow regarding responsible
gaming. The signatories undertake not only to
meet the requirements established in respect of ten
key elements, but also agree to regular review by
independent external assessors as part of the process
of certification. The independent assessors must be
approved in advance by the EL Responsible Gaming
Committee.
As of today, the 14 certified lotteries are:
– AB Svenska Spel (Sweden) in May 2009
– Austrian Lotteries (Austria) in June 2009
– Israel Sports Betting Board (Israel) in February
2010
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
La Française des Jeux (France) in June 2009
Loteria de Catalunya (Spain) in May 2009
Loterie Nationale (Luxembourg) in May 2010
Lottomatica SpA (Italy) in May 2009
Mifal Hapais (Israel) in April 2009
Société de la Loterie de la Suisse Romande
(Switzerland) in May 2009
Szerencsejáték Zrt. (Hungary) in May 2010
Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd. (United Kingdom) in
May 2009
Toto-Lotto Niedersachsen GmbH Lower Saxony
(Germany) in April 2010
Veikkaus Oy (Finland) in May 2009
Westdeutsche Lotterie GmbH & Co. OHG (Germany) in May 2009.
These fourteen lottery companies have been officially
honoured during the Industry Days in Barcelona
last June 3rd and have all received their certificates,
accompanied by loud applause of the EL Members.
We warmly congratulate all the certified Lotteries!
And let’s make a date during our next Congress in
2011 in Helsinki to honour the next batch of Lotteries
that will have completed the process of Certification
by that time.
LOTTERIES THAT ARE INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT HOW TO GET CERTIFIED AND
RESPONSIBLE GAMING IN GENERAL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THE NEXT EL
SEMINAR “FROM RESPONSIBLE GAMING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY” KINDLY HOSTED
BY SVENSKA SPEL IN STOCKHOLM FROM 29 SEPTEMBER TO 1 OCTOBER 2010. PLEASE
REGISTER VIA THE EL WEBSITE WWW.EUROPEAN-LOTTERIES.ORG
RESPONSIBLE GAMING
AN OASIS OF
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
SPORTS BETTING
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO – MAY 4-7, 2010
Over 120 delegates from four continents and more
than 30 countries met in Marrakech for a seminar
on sports betting jointly organized by AALE, EL and
WLA. Never has attendance for a sports betting
seminar been so large.
and how to find sustainable funding for grass-roots
sports. There were also questions of property rights
and copyright claims and, last but not least, issues
relating to the integrity of sports and sports betting.
The newly appointed CEO of La Marocaine des Jeux,
Mr. Younés El Mechrafi, welcomed the participants
and reminded them that this landmark event for
African lotteries was held only 38 days prior to the
Football World Cup, also to be hosted on the African
continent. As the first African lottery to introduce
sports wagering in 1962, and fixed-odds betting in
2005, La Marocaine des Jeux was proud to host such
a major event.
Mr. Nieminen, who had just attended meetings with
the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) and
with SportAccord (formerly the General Association
of International Sports Federations), indicated these
associations’ desire to cooperate closely with WLA on
sports integrity issues, in order to increase awareness
among athletes globally. This was an immense
opportunity for all WLA sports betting lotteries to
show their commitment and to take leadership in
demonstrating best practices in sports betting.
Mr. Risto Nieminen, CEO of Veikkaus, Senior Vice
President of WLA, and Chair of EL Sports Committee,
also welcomed the delegates and gave an overview of
the sports betting situation in Europe. Many important
issues needed to be discussed: An upcoming Green
Paper on Sports in the European Union dealing with
themes such as how to handle professional sports,
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The two-day program focused around four
themes: regional markets and new legislative
models, integrity and sports betting, value
of sports betters and sports betting lottery
offers for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
THE AFRICAN MARKET
The director of La Marocaine des Jeux, Mr. Nabil
Baakili, gave first an overview of betting in Africa and
then a more detailed picture of betting in Morocco,
Senegal, Tunisia, and South Africa. The dominant
form of betting in Africa is on horse racing. More than
90% of total lottery and wagering sales in Africa come
from instant tickets and horse racing pari-mutuel
betting. Morocco is unique in being the first to launch
Cote & Foot in 2005, which in addition to the two
pools games and the “Oddset” game, accounts for
more than 50% of the current total sports wagering.
Estimation on annual sports betting sales in Africa,
not including horse race betting, would be around
US$ 200 million.
THE EUROPEAN MARKET
Mr. Andreas Mattes, Product Manager of Staatliche
Toto-Lotto, Stuttgart, Germany, and member of
the EL Sports Betting Working Group, presented
an overview of sports betting in Europe based on
a questionnaire completed early 2010 by some
38 European lotteries offering sports betting. The
questionnaire revealed that total sports betting in
Europe for 2009 was above EUR 7 billion, while EUR
5.5 billion were attributed to Oddset. Sales through
the Internet have been growing 38% annually the
past three years. At present, the Nordic lotteries sell
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between 16% and 40% through this channel. In Italy,
Sisal and Lottomatica both have rates above 30%,
whilst La Française des Jeux (FDJ) is currently around
5% but growing significantly. Mr. Mattes presented
the developments over the past five years. For fixedodds betting, all except Germany had experienced
growth. Measuring sales per capita, Greece topped
the list with EUR 180 per capita. Denmark came
second with EUR 50 p.c. in 2009, followed by Norway
EUR 37 p.c., and Israel EUR 31 p.c. The lowest p.c.
sale of Oddset was found in Germany with EUR 2 p.c.
and the Netherlands with EUR 1 p.c.
THE ASIAN MARKET
Mr. Gilbert Cheng, Head of Business Development
and Special Projects at the Hong Kong Jockey Club
(HKJC), presented sports wagering in Asia. Total
annual sports betting sales are around US$ 45 billion
and growing. Mr. Cheng described the impact of
international bookmakers selling Internet wagering
illegally. Establishing legal sports betting became
the only answer for each country. One of the driving
forces for sports wagering in Asia is the sport itself;
also technology and heavy media coverage of any
sports event have been a driver, together with live
betting. Finally, the impressive general economic
growth figures in the region have also impacted
positively on sports wagering. Mr. Cheng concluded
AN OASIS OF OPPORTUNITIES
FOR SPORTS BETTING
his overview of Asian sports wagering by showing
how illegal betting was counteracted in Hong Kong
through an efficient application of the law and
by increasing punters’ awareness on the negative
impact of illegal games. By presenting an attractive
marketplace to betters, the HKJC ensured that
the desire for gaming was channeled into a legal
framework.
THE SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICAN MARKET
Mr. Rene Dissing, Senior Sports Betting Solutions
Manager from GTECH, gave an update on sports
betting in South and Central America. Fixed odds
betting is available in Chile, Colombia, Uruguay,
Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic and
Jamaica – whilst Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Chile and
Colombia also offer traditional pools games. Some
of the challenges are related to legislation and a
relatively low payback rate.
THE AUSTRALIAN AND CANADIAN MARKET
Ms. Areti Markou, International Operations Manager
of Intralot, took the delegates “down under” and
outlined the Australian sports betting markets.
Sports betting in Australia is offered through
state-owned or state-licensed operators as well as
corporate bookmakers. Sales are made through more
than 4,000 outlets, via telephone, as well as on the
Internet. The total sales volume is around AUS$ 2.5
billion annually, but is expected to double over the
next five years.
Mr. James Haverstock from the British Columbia
Lottery Corporation, Canada, went back to Canadian
sports betting in 2006 compared to today’s situation.
Five lottery jurisdictions offer fixed odds and parimutuel wagering. In 2006, sales amounted to CAN$
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415 million. Four years later, sales have increased
to CAN$ 469 million, with the Ontario Lottery
Corporation accounting for more than half of all
sales, with a per capita sale of CAN$ 20 in 2010.
NEW LEGISLATIVE MODELS
Mr. Jean Jørgensen, WLA Executive Director, outlined
the new gaming proposal currently being debated
at the Danish parliament. Under the heading “A
partial liberalization of the gaming markets”, the
government intends to liberalize sports betting with
fixed and running odds sold in shops, as well as
with Internet-based Poker and Casino games. This
proposal will come into force 1st January 2011.
Mr. Thomas Lamaury and Mr. David Blaise-Martin,
both from FDJ, presented the new legislation in
France. Markets for online sports betting, will open
on June 9th (as well as Poker games), FDJ has prepared
itself since autumn 2009 re-launching its website
and completing its image program for sports betting
products via retailers and the Internet.
Mr. Oscar Villar Castro, Business Analyst from ONCE,
outlined the initiatives currently made individually
in regions of Spain to deal with Internet gaming
and sports wagering. Each region has a different
approach and although the government pledged a
national framework back in 2007, the draft proposal
made in 2009 never received any support.
INTEGRITY AND SPORTS BETTING
Dr. David Forrest, Professor of Economics at the
Centre for the Study of Gambling, Salford University,
United Kingdom, and Professor at the Macau
Polytechnic Institute, gave a keynote presentation
on betting and corruption in sports wagering. The
AN OASIS OF OPPORTUNITIES
FOR SPORTS BETTING
lecture was structured around the economic model
on crime first developed by Nobel Laureate, Dr.
Gary Becker, and presented the advantages and
disadvantages of corruption in sports betting. The
academic studies and use of economic thinking have
helped to identify which characteristics one should
look for when trying to pinpoint possible fixed
sporting events. High liquidity on events was one
such danger signal, while the possibility to bet live on
outcomes that would not impact the overall sporting
result was another.
Mr. Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar, Switzerland,
showed the tremendous data collection and analysis
system they had put in place since June 2009, in
cooperation with UEFA on a Betting Fraud Detection
System (BFDS). The BFDS covers more than 29,000
football matches a year, with monitoring, analyzing,
and scoring each match with respect to the
probability of a fix, and reporting it later to UEFA.
Mr. Jens Nielsen, Oddset Manager at Danske Spil,
Denmark, and chair of the EL Sports Betting Working
Group, gave a status report on the European Lotteries
Monitoring System (ELMS). They have monitored
some 800 UEFA matches and a similar number of
FIFA matches over the past year. As a new twist, the
19 ELMS members from 18 countries now have the
option of connecting and reporting directly into the
Sportradar BFDS.
The afternoon ended with a contest, organized by
Mr. Helmut Löchenberger, Product Manager of
Tipp3, Austrian Lotteries, and a member of the EL
Sports Betting Working Group. Nine companies
provided their best sports betting commercials and
the audience rated each of them. The clear winner
was Norsk Tipping, Norway, followed by the Israel
Sports Board and Veikkaus, Finland.
THE VALUE OF SPORTS PUNTERS
The EL Premium Partners and the WLA Platinum
Contributors Intralot and GTECH were joined by
the WLA Silver Contributor Betware to address the
issue of cross-selling. Mr. Panos Pournaras, Business
Development Manager at Intralot, explained how
sports betting was not only about money but also
about social entertainment. Mr. Anders Frigren,
Marketing Director of Sports Betting, GTECH, gave
the audience an overview of sports betting as
performed by purely commercial operators. Mr. Ólafur
Andri Ragnarsson, co-founder and Chief Software
Architect of Betware, showed the dimensions of social
media and the growth potential for lotteries.
“Our agents needed a fast, secure method of tracking
lottery sales on their own accounting systems, so they
could accurately distinguish lottery revenues from other
revenue. GTECH designed and implemented a barcode
solution that lets agents rapidly scan — and accurately
GTECH® is an advocate of socially responsible gaming. Our business solutions empower customers to develop parameters
and practices, appropriate to their needs, that become the foundation of their responsible gaming programs.
Veikkaus Product Manager, Mr. Niko Marttinen,
explained the software program “The odds assistant”,
developed over the past few years to enhance odds
making and pricing. Live betting is becoming a
larger part of total sports wagering. Indeed, for
some commercial operators it has exceeded 50% of
their total sales. Mr. Raffaele Lillo, Betting Business
Analyst from Lottomatica, said that live betting may
not be profitable for now, but it is crucial to maintain
the loyalty of customers in a competitive market. Mr.
Matt Stephenson, Head of Business Development
for Betgenius, gave their version of how to do largescale live betting. Mr. Carsten Koerl showed how
Sportradar could assist lotteries in this area. Mr.
John B. Pazartzis, VP for Business Development
of Neurosoft, Greece, focused on getting risk
management right.
LOTTERIES AND THE WORLD CUP 2010 IN
SOUTH AFRICA
One month ahead of the World Cup in South Africa,
lotteries around the globe are preparing for the
event. Three lotteries showed what they had in the
pipeline. Mr. Khalid Fahim, Operations Manager
of La Marocaine des Jeux, hopes the World Cup
will boost their sales. As a new initiative, they have
developed a number of SMS competitions and
engaged in cooperation with a telecommunications
provider. Mr. Walter de Beauvesier Watson, Manager
of the Lottery and Sports Betting Department at De
Lotto, The Netherlands, and an EL Sports Betting
Working Group Member, showed the initiatives of De
Lotto. In cooperation with British Petroleum, betters
filling their car with more than 20 liters of petrol
would win a voucher for a free bet of EUR 1 on one
of the matches involving Dutch participation. De
Lotto had also increased its payout from 83 to 87%
per match and is cooperating with the most popular
radio broadcaster in The Netherlands. Finally, Mr.
Ola Carlsson, Product Developer of Svenska Spel,
explained how Svenska Spel would increase the
quantity of each bet type both for pools and for oddset
games. Prior to the group matches, a better will tell
the retailer which team was his World Cup favorite
and the retailer will then sell him an intelligent quick
pick featuring two matches involving this team at a
price of SEK 20.
Jean JØRGENSEN
Moderator / WLA Executive Director
capture — the value of their lottery purchases on their own cash
register. Now our agents have a clear and integrated view of
their sales by product line, and The Lottery retains full visibility
of lottery product sales.”
Jim O’Connor, Key Account Manager, The Lottery, Ireland
For more about this story and others like it, visit us at gtech.com/testimonials.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
AND COMMUNICATIONS SEMINAR
VIENNA, 16-18 MAY 2010
The forty delegates from twenty European
lotteries who attended the EL Public Relations
and Communications Seminar on “Building
Positive Relationships” were clearly at the mercy
of Eyjafjallajokull when it came to the proceedings
at this important EL Seminar hosted by Austrian
Lotteries. With three speakers travelling from the
UK and Ireland, and an ash cloud that was showing
a great affinity for all places in a southeasterly
direction from Iceland, it was evident that a good
Plan B was required. In the event, the only casualty
was the Irish keynote speaker, who was replaced, at
the last minute by Niko Alm who is CEO of the SuperFi Group (advertising, design, web, publishing,
software) in Vienna.
Over the two days of the meeting, the participants
were exposed to challenging ideas and concepts
about how lotteries should set about building
positive relationships, ranging from the need to
develop “pools of goodwill” among opinion leaders,
to reinforcing trust among lottery players and the
public, in general.
David Rigg, Manager Director of Project Associates,
UK, the original Director of Communications for
Camelot gave some colourful examples of how to
WORKSHOPS
develop good relations with the press. He strongly
advised building relationships in the “good times” so
that they could be leveraged in the “bad times”.
“IT TAKES 20 YEARS TO BUILD A
REPUTATION AND FIVE MINUTES TO RUIN
IT.” WARREN BUFFET
David shared examples of crisis triggers such as
“whistle blowers” and “product failure” where
winning and losing depended on the following
characteristics:
WINNING
LOSING
Humility
Arrogance
Human/Caring
Legalistic
Open Communication
Dishonest/misleading
Rapid response
Slow
Clear Position
Inconsistent
Acting responsibly/Learn
Denial
David Himmelbauer, from the host lottery, gave an
excellent presentation, on the basis of his experience
as a journalist (before he “crossed over” from the
“dark side” to the gaming sector).
His advice was that PR people should never “lecture”
journalists, since the journalists have “always known
everything”, but PR people should …
% Be proactive as they supply information before
and after decisions
% Deliver the information before competitors do
% Try to use crisp wordings
% Stay in touch – even with the „baddies“
Next, Jeanette Ström, the Head of PR at Svenska
Spel, gave a comprehensive paper on how to build
brands using PR. In passing, she offered a nice
succinct definition of PR as “Do something good
and tell people about it”. This may seem like a simple
definition for the 21st century, but it captures the
practical essence of the topic.
Svenska Spel recently reorganised its organisational
structure and set up a new Market Division where
PR, Sponsorship and Brands are brought together.
This reorganisation showed clearly the intent of the
company to move PR into a more active role in the
development of the game brands and the “mother
brand” of Svenska Spel itself. They make great use
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of research and track the attitude of players and
the public to all their brands. By associating their
brands with sport in Sweden, they have managed
to successfully promote core messages such as the
Lottery is “Swedish Sport’s best friend”.
Jeanette and Svenska Spel promote brands as
“friends”, and players believe that the brands are
not only friends, but they are friends/brands that
can be trusted. She also presented how PR is used
with the Responsible Gaming ethos of Svenska Spel
to improve the image of the lottery and also gave
interesting insights into Svenska Spel’s exploratory
use of the new media social networks.
Richard Peel, who joined Camelot in 2008 as
Director of Corporate Affairs, explained the massive
restructuring that is taking place in Camelot
following the award of the new licence and the recent
change in ownership. And if that were not enough
they now have to deal with a new Government and
hundreds of new members of Parliament. The task of
developing new relationships with all of these new
stakeholders is truly a gargantuan task.
The development of a corporate affairs strategy,
staying in contact with regional media, and
embedding the Communications team in the
business has been the backbone of the restructuring.
Richard explained how it was seen as very important
to introduce a regular lottery information bulletin for
Members of Parliament and to have full transparency
in all stakeholder reporting.
The recent change in ownership of Camelot required
a very specific and focussed communications effort
which had as its key messages – longevity, investment
and confidence.
Richard shared the results of some research data
which showed that “Trust in the UK National Lottery”
was at its highest level ever in 2009, at 74% of adults
agreeing that the National Lottery was trustworthy,
compared with 49% in 2004.
Marc Frederix from the Belgian National Lottery and
Arjan van’t Veer and David Selier for the Dutch State
Lottery delivered two papers which demonstrated
how to deal with lottery “problems” that are publicly
exposed.
Marc described the lottery reaction to problems
that required delicate and extensive reaction and
communication from the highest levels within the
National Lottery to maintain the trust and confidence
of the Belgian players.
Based on the experiences, Marc extracted the
following “learnings” …
% Always be prepared for the worst
% It is impossible to keep confidential information a
secret
% In a crisis situation, display dignity, not aggression
% Turn critical stakeholders into allies
% Taking the long term approach is key; quick wins
will never pay
Marc also presented the results of market research
which was carried out around the time of the
incidents. While there was some negative reactions,
there was very little change in the public perception
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of the National Lottery and in players intentions to
continue to play National Lottery games.
There was strong positive reaction to press
conferences and press advertisements making the
position of the lottery fully transparent.
Arjan showed a TV interview in which he withstood
tough questioning from a very aggressive interviewer
about the public perception of a State Lottery
advertising campaign for a e25m jackpot, where a
1/5 share ticket would only be eligible for 1/5 of the
advertised jackpot.
Arjan then showed how the Lottery went on to use
good communications and full transparency by
redesigning their publicity campaign (in a most
creative and inventive way) to more correctly reflect
the position for subsequent draws.
The final presentation was made by Rupert Hornig,
EL General Delegate and Jutta Buyse, EL Deputy
General Delegate, who explained how the Brussels
based press corps interacted with the national
press in each of the members jurisdictions. One of
the primary functions of the EL Brussels office is to
make EL’s voice heard in Brussels: quick reactions
and interactions between the Brussels office and
communications staff in member lotteries was the
key to efficient and effective operation.
Each of the two days of the Seminar was completed
with group discussions and practical case studies that
provided the participants with the opportunity to
apply what they had learned from the presentations.
Ray BATES
Moderator / EL Honorary President
INDUSTRY DAYS 2010
BARCELONA
JUNE 2-4, 2010
Among almost 250 delegates attending the 2010
Industry Days in Barcelona in June 2010, were senior
staff members from the three Premium Partners,
Gtech, Intralot and Scientific Games, and the SemiPremium Partner, Wincor Nixdorf; the host Director,
Mercè Claramunt i Bielsa, General Director, and
members of her staff at the Loteria de Catalunya, as
well as lottery directors and senior staff from almost
50 EL Member State Lottery and Betting Companies.
Given the technical and lottery-specific nature of
much of the proceedings of the two days, it was
agreed that the two keynote speakers would address
issues other than lottery and technology. This
was indeed the case and Professor Richard Scase
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and Richard Gerver shared experiences of global
business and the characteristics of young adults with
the attendees.
As a “forecaster”, Professor Scase predicted that the
current economic and financial world crisis would
continue until 2016. This means that Governments
in all the EL member jurisdictions would continue
to have a strong dependency on funds from lottery
and sports betting activities for some time to come.
He described his world of “upside down” business
models and postulated that we are living in an age of
anxiety and insecurity but we have a growing belief
in chance. He urged the participants not to forget the
“silver surfers”, or people aged over 55 years, when
developing games and facilities to be delivered via
the new media channels. He also left delegates with
an exhortation to keep their businesses “Fit, Fresh
and Fun”.
Richard Gerver, who had won the prestigious
“School Head Teacher of the Year Award” at the
British National Teaching Awards, gave insights into
what currently makes young adults “tick”. Arguing
that young adults are similar all over Europe; care
a lot about the Environment, the Economy and
Ethnic Discord, he showed how they live increasingly
in a world where nothing is certain. They spend
significant amounts of time in virtual space and
value social networking websites and facilities
such as Facebook, Spotify and Twitter. They feel
empowered in these environments, to which they
are retreating with increasing frequency. Lifestyle
and images of lifestyle are their ruling Gods and they
revel in being termed the “on-demand” generation.
His final conclusion was that they are, in spite of all
of these seemingly superficial activities, emotionally
involved and care for their environment and future
generations.
The INTRALOT Session, titled “The Emergence of
the New Player: Technologies and Business Processes
are the Key Enablers”, was moderated by Mr.
Pournaras, and included presentations from Andre
Chaker from Veikkaus in Finland who brought the
delegates through his circular (and virtuous model)
of the Veikkaus Lottery Customer.
Acquire ¤ Distribute ¤ Entertain ¤ Understand ¤Retain
Given the pioneering role of Veikkaus in the field of
digital channels it was interesting to hear that 23%
of Veikkaus turnover now passes through the digital
channels and that 30% of registered Veikkaus players
have given permission to be sent marketing emails.
13% of the same base have given permission to be
sent customer relation marketing via SMS.
Andre showed the disparity between “Media Time
Spent” and “Ad time Spent” where, for some media,
the proportion of time spent by consumers in the
medium was far in excess of the total amount of
advertising spend expended on the same media. The
ultimate aim of Veikkaus is to build customer loyalty
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with a life cycle program, which is firmly based on
trust.
The INTRALOT session also included a presentation
from Gregory Yovanov, Athens information
Technology, on the importance of m-Gaming.
He pointed out that social networking sites were
important because of all the C’s …
Creativity, Collaboration, Community, Communication, Competition, Convergence and Connectivity.
He proposed that, because of the new technologies,
the consumer of today was actually a “PROSUMER”
– involved with the production and consumption of
data and information. You can only reach the new
player by extending the lottery “to the palm of their
hands”.
Mr. Mazza then urged the attendees not to look on the
internet as just another distribution channel. It is not
just another lottery “shop”. He quoted examples from
other sectors, such as travel, where it was not just the
channel but the range of services on offer that had
significantly changed. For example downloadable
apps should be developed for new lottery games,
particularly for branded lottery games.
Mr. Zenzefilis closed the session by introducing the
concept of moving from “dotCOM” to “dotCOUNTRY”,
where the gaming system becomes a Gaming
EcoSystem. He analysed the strengths and weaknesses
of the sector and proposed his “winning strategy”
consisting of Enabling Regulation, B2B Partnerships
and a strong focus on marketing and sales.
INDUSTRY DAYS 2010
BARCELONA
The second session was from GTECH and was
entitled
“Putting the R back into R & D”.
It was moderated by Sharon Duncalf who opened the
session with some very interesting and stimulating
visual information and facts. Asserting that “we
are living in truly exponential times” she went on
to question whether we had become data-rich and
analytically-poor.
To demonstrate the importance of Research for
lotteries, she introduced two presentations on case
studies, one from the Irish National Lottery and the
other from Veikkaus in Finland.
Dermot Griffin, CEO of the National Lottery, Ireland,
explained how research had been used to improve
and “tune up” the recently introduced Raffle game
in Ireland. Intensive market research was used to
determine whether the concept of a “Sweepstake”
was understood by Irish lottery players and whether
it would be an effective variation of the basic Raffle
game that had been offered to Irish players for the
past three years. Five representative player-types
were identified and their responses to the concept of
the new game were tested. There were no significant
residual effects from the old Irish Sweepstakes and
the research showed that the 20 ticket price was
justified by the game proposition, particularly as an
alternative to a lower ticket price, but with a larger
number of tickets on sale in the raffle. Research
had strongly influenced the style and tone of the
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advertising campaign used and the design and use of
point-of-sale support.
Jari Vahanen then explained the customer research
project in Veikkaus called LOUHI. With 1.2 million
players registered from among its 3.7 million
customers, Veikkaus is well supplied with “internal”
data. External requirements are satisfied with
“Atlas” research … 8000 yearly answers, and Market
tracking … 200 weekly answers. The LOUHI process,
which also incorporates best Responsible Gaming
principles, is described as transforming ideas into
information for better decision-making. The process
enables new games to be “tested” by players and
then facilitates evaluation of game prototypes by
simulation techniques. Changes to existing games
can also be modelled and tested. A novel dimension
of the process is that the customer is effectively
harnessed as a resource for development. The overall
result is that lottery management can make informed
decisions based on “facts” from the process, and they
can truly claim that the players are influencing the
games being designed and introduced by Veikkaus.
The third Partner Session was from Scientific Games
and was entitled “Convergence of Distribution
Channels”.
Rick Weil, CEO and Managing Director of
Sciplay introduced the session by presenting
three transformative trends with global gaming
implications …
% Growth of wide area gaming (proliferation of
channel types and locations)
% Convergence (players want to play any game,
anywhere at anytime)
% Increased role for Government (spectrum of
regulation from restricted to open).
He also suggested that the “new paradigm” of the
theme of the meeting might be more to do with
new relationships and partnerships rather than new
hardware and systems, or, indeed, the new economic
and financial order.
Andy Townsend then gave an interesting presentation using comparative sales figures to show that
there was great potential for expanding the market
for instant games in Europe (versus North American
sales). In particular he cited Italy as an example of
where instant game sales had been increased from
€0.4billion in 2004 to €9.3billion in 2009. Poker
and Bingo are two classes of gaming that have been
well exploited on the new media channels, but it
is important that operators continue to search for
powerful player engaging content.
Jeremie Kanter from Playtech then showed how the
customer must be placed at the centre of the model
so that operators ensure that the markets are efficient
and evolve to align with customer needs and wants.
Giovanni Maggi, CEO of Sisal, then presented
their position in the Italian market with the focus
on eGaming and Online, and the importance of
integration. He explained various facilities and
services that were made available to the Italian
player.
Offer Peri, the CEO of the Israel Sports Betting
Board then explained how his company not only
offers sports betting, but was also responsible
for the allocation of their profits (around 25%) to
deserving sports organisations. His task was made
more difficult because of the extent of illegal sports
betting in Israel. For this reason it was very necessary
to use every possible facility (integrated marketing)
and channel (e.g. Facebook) to dialogue with his
customers/players.
Rick Weil closed the session by urging Lotteries to
capitalize on the new paradigm, and leverage their
three main assets:
% Their Trusted Brand
% Their vast, established retail distribution
% Their massive customer base.
The final Session from the Semi Premium Partner,
Wincor Nixdorf, was given by Hagen Hoehl, Director
of Strategic Sales.
Representing a synergy of retail and banking
expertise, he explained how 90% of all payments in
the world continue to be made in cash, and dealing
WORKSHOPS
with the “cash cycle” was still a vital component of
any business.
He also pointed out the interesting evolution where
the banks had over recent times “forced” their
customers out of their branches and migrated them
to their online services. Paradoxically the banks now
find themselves missing out on opportunities for
cross-selling other products to their customers.
Hagen also ended his presentation by urging lotteries
to “go where the customer is”.
The Industry Days high point were the back-toback Panel discussions with four Lottery Directors
(Dianne Thompson, Friedrich Stickler, Risto
Nieminen, and Jean-Luc Moner-Banet) and four
Supplier representatives (Connie Laverty, George
Zenzefilis, Rick Weil, and Hagen Hoehl ).
The discussion and debate ranged over a number of
issues. Some key concerns and responses were …
% In the new paradigm it was time to concentrate on
the customer and put him/her back at the centre of
the model. In spite of the financial and economic
turmoil it was still felt that there was capacity for
growth in the gaming market.
% The Directors were very happy to continue to share
experiences with fellow Directors and to extend cooperation in all fields, as was recently experienced
at the recent EL Seminar on PR/Communications.
% All agreed that the Retail Channel continued to play
an important role. But it was very important that
Retail agents were kept well informed and briefed
about new products by the Lottery, and aware
of their responsibilities under the Responsible
Gaming best practices.
% Given the changing nature of the scope of the
activities of Lotteries and Suppliers, it was generally
felt that there was no conflict in the activities of
Lotteries or Suppliers who were actively seeking
to expand their business into new jurisdictions
and business opportunities. All member Lotteries
are operated in a strictly regulated environment
and all tendering for “new business” is carried out
within very formal and controlled processes.
% Delegates were left with a reminder not to forget
the “LOTTERY TRADITION” and to continue to
develop and leverage “BRAND LOTTERY”.
Ray BATES
Moderator, Industry Days 2010
Northern Light
EL CONGRESS 2011
|
HEL SINKI
Mark
5 — 9 J U N E 2 0 11
www.el2011.org

players` satisfaction

Transcription

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