In a year shaped by fewer jackpots and evolving consumer behavior, the Arizona Lottery delivered something extraordinary: growth. This achievement was not due to luck but the result of a disciplined return to fundamentals, anchored by strong partnerships, a people-first strategy, and a relentless focus on execution.
Central to that success was the Arizona Lottery’s 27-year partnership with Pollard Banknote. What began as a ticket printing relationship in 1998 has grown into a deep collaboration that spans instant ticket innovation, warehousing, retail execution, analytics, and digital advancement. In recent years, this partnership has also supported the Lottery’s expansion into digital experiences, including enhancements to the Arizona Players Club loyalty platform and the successful launch of the Lucky Lounge online sweepstakes. In FY25, this collaborative partnership helped the Lottery respond to market shifts with greater speed and precision.
Pollard’s support extends across the value chain. From managing warehouse operations and fulfillment to providing impactful recommendations to optimize planograms and curb-to-counter merchandising strategies, the partnership allowed the Arizona Lottery to stay focused on what it could control while continuing to evolve its approach. By pairing consistent execution with innovation, Arizona maintained momentum throughout the year.
A major driver of that momentum was the leadership of Executive Director Alec Thomson. Under Alec’s guidance, the Lottery strengthened relationships with retailers and created the environment for collaboration and alignment to thrive. He has been the driving force behind Arizona’s recent progress, ensuring the Lottery could drive retailer engagement and sales team performance together. His leadership brought internal and external partners into stronger alignment, helping deliver results.
That alignment came to life through the development of an expanded private-public partnership that’s working to transform the model of the Lottery sales team structure—and it’s working. Field representatives received enhanced training and communication tools, and the team expanded its presence at retail. The Inside and Outside sales teams work in tandem to build one-on-one relationships with retailers to grow sales. This coordination with the warehouse operations and sales teams improved communication, accelerated response times, and ensured consistency across Arizona’s retail footprint.
Executional improvements quickly translated into measurable gains, including impactful statewide out of stock scratcher reductions in FY25 that supported same-store scratcher growth. The Lottery also introduced optimized planograms in select stores. These layouts drove better product visibility and performance, resulting in an average selling price increase of over 10% in stores using the new planograms compared to stores using non optimized versions. That merchandising shift helped contribute to an overall portfolio-wide increase in scratcher average selling price from $8.36 to $8.73 in FY25.
Retail-facing enhancements like Digital Menu Boards from Schafer Retail Solutions + improved in-store visibility and simplified execution. Circle K stores equipped with these boards outperformed other stores, delivering a 10% sales lift compared to a 1.1% decline in non-equipped locations.
Meanwhile, the Lottery achieved record-breaking new game activation rates. By FYQ4, more than 81% of new games were activated within the first five days of launch, up from just 63% in FYQ1. This incredible progress was driven by closer coordination between teams, streamlined communication, and strong engagement from retailers.
Sales contests and performance incentives have reinforced this focus, while regular statewide meetings and real-time reporting have helped close feedback loops between the field and the office. The Bright Spots program has provided a consistent forum to spotlight wins and share best practices across the state, creating a culture of accountability and celebration.
Pilot programs also played a key role in identifying growth opportunities. One standout was a $50 price point pilot at QuikTrip, launched alongside the February 2025 debut of the $5 Million Luxe ticket featuring Pollard’s Spectrum Scratch FX™. The pilot included a major planogram shift that introduced a third $50 ticket into stores, expanding the presence of premium offerings. The results were immediate: pilot locations saw a 44% lift in scratcher sales, with weekly increases exceeding $10,000. The Luxe ticket quickly became a top performer, prompting QuikTrip to expand beyond the pilot in April. The pilot validated that strong product design, price point strategy, and planogram execution can work together to drive significant growth.
Despite early headwinds, the Arizona Lottery is showing strong momentum. In the first 11 weeks of FY26, scratcher sales are up 7.8% year-over-year. This builds on strong performance in the second half of FY25, where Q4 alone saw a 6.7% gain. Enhanced field strategies, stronger retailer partnerships, and improved in-store experiences have all contributed to this sustained performance.
FY25 became a powerful demonstration of how clear priorities, aligned teams, and trusted partnerships can overcome industry volatility. Director Thomson’s leadership was instrumental in turning strategic intent into operational excellence, bringing together the people and processes required to succeed.
For lotteries navigating similar terrain, Arizona’s story offers a compelling roadmap. Focus on what you can control. Invest in your people. Build strong partnerships. Execute with clarity and consistency.
That is how Arizona turned a challenging year into a platform for sustainable growth.