Due to the pandemic, companies have implemented digital platforms and enhanced online experiences. The arrival of the new coronavirus pandemic early last year radically changed the way we live as a society. Everyday habits were severely impacted. In a certain way, while some sectors suffered to establish themselves in the midst of the circulation of people, others tried to diversify actions, incorporate new strategies and continue seeking positive results. Websites like betting.net allow players to play casino online and to find the
best football betting odds.
It is possible to say that this was the thinking of managers and businessmen involved in sports lotteries around the world. In a scenario that forced a decrease in the circulation of people and a drop in face-to-face activity in almost all activities, the lottery market had to reinvent itself and draw up new strategies. The bet on the online market was perhaps the main one, with sites such as GrandesLoterias, aimed at helping people choose their numbers and playing the games.
In the United States, for example, there is a growing movement for operators to modify their organisational structures in order to achieve results that are better contemplated by online operations. State operators from Oregon to Maryland are encouraging their own employees to allow online ticket sales to become the rule, not the exception, from falling revenues in physical shops.
The CEO of Spinola Gaming, one of the world's largest lottery companies, Ade Repcenko, is leading the charge to get US national lotteries to go through a digital sales transition. The idea is to export this model to other countries in which the company has some kind of operation.
"Retail operators need to take a look at the post-Covid19 world and its impact on player needs and expectations, and think about what that means for the future of lotteries. Digital is the way forward and should play a major role in our industry in the coming years. We are developing software that allows operators to monitor all lottery ticket sales and track all online and offline purchases in real time. The future is there," he told the IGaming Times website.
During the lockdown, several US states such as Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia took it upon themselves to legalise digital lottery ticket sales. The most recent data shows an increase in digital ticket sales and the maintenance of pre-pandemic revenue. The state of New Hampshire, for example, recorded a 38% increase in online sales.
Those who have not adopted the online model strongly have lost money. Responsible for lotteries in the state of Oregon, administrator Barry Pack pointed out that traditional retailers based in Oregon lost 70% of their customers due to the lockdown. He assesses that a recovery will only be possible if operators migrate to digital quickly.
"Recovery from this pandemic will force a digital transformation in our industry much more quickly than we would normally see," he said. "By the time legislators discuss more major and comprehensive legislation, they will be facing a billion-dollar deficit. Their views on mobile gaming will change. I think there will be less resistance. "
Maryland's state lottery director Gordon Medenica agrees with Barry Pack's views. "We've been promoting digital transformation and online sales for as long as I've been in this industry, for the last 10 to 15 years," he said. "In Maryland, they passed a law three years ago banning Internet sales. I think we will see a change in the face of the current scenario," he stressed.
The changes that have taken place in the US indicate an increasingly necessary renewal of online lotteries. Britain, Italy and Spain are also discussing ways to boost the digital lottery industry. Experts say that key markets in Latin America, Australia and Asia also need to keep up with this transformation if they are not to be left behind.