Illinois Lottery
Richard Fairbanks, VP Retail Performance
We are partnering with leading lottery vendors to develop flagship lottery stores. In each store, we are streamlining and enhancing the overall Illinois Lottery presence, including a players’ corner, updated signage and wall graphics, highlighting winner awareness on a larger scale, and implementing outdoor signage.
The Illinois Lottery placed a SCiQ system in over 10% of its retail estate in FY24. This was intended to improve the Lottery’s digital in-store presence and the retailer’s selling experience. Early sales results support a 3-6% growth over non-SCiQ control group locations, with positive growth trends increasing month-over-month based on installation dates.
Retail initiatives for the Illinois Lottery in FY25 will focus on furthering digital efforts within test-and-learn environments. We will be installing additional monitors at approximately a third of our independent retail locations. These monitors are intended to drive awareness and engagement for our Fast Play portfolio of games at the point of purchase.
We will also be enhancing digital presence via the SCiQ screens. We are exploring video and animation options for the instant ticket tiles, while also testing retail-specific content geared toward players in specific retail locations.
Finally, we are testing retailer-specific terminal promotions with select Key Account partners. We will be piloting promotions tailored to player behavior within specific retail segments (grocery, gas, convenience, etc.), which will make for a more manageable testing environment.
Texas Lottery
Will Russ, Products Manager
The agency coordinated with H-E-B® Food Stores to implement a single-store pilot of ticket-by-ticket scratch ticket activation through the retailer’s POS with or without the use of a traditional lottery sales terminal. The activation project went live at one H-E-B location in March 2024, with plans for expansion into H-E-B Business Centers after initial monitoring of reporting and staff training. This industry-first project has incorporated extensive development and testing by the retailer to sell tickets through the retailer’s POS while allowing individual tickets to be activated at the time of sale, instead of the entire pack being activated prior to sale. The program allows for robust ticket sales accounting and enhanced ticket security. Results are still pending.
The Texas Lottery is also collaborating with two scratch ticket manufacturers, Scientific Games and Pollard Banknote Limited, to place in-lane, automated scratch ticket dispensing units at retail. Since implementation in 2023, the Texas Lottery continues to work with both companies to place automated scratch ticket dispensers (SCiQ® and easyVEND™, respectively) at retail. The dispensers meet industry and Texas Lottery standards for transaction processing and reporting. These attributes and an emphasis on the dispensers’ physical security requirements reduce retailer risk due to theft. As of May 2024, 676 retailers are utilizing one of the solutions. While preliminary sales results after the installation of one of the dispensers are positive, definitive results are pending until more data has been collected and analyzed.
Idaho Lottery
Jeff Anderson, Director
The Idaho Lottery is honored to be chosen as the 2024 Category Captains Award winner by Convenience Store News (CSN). Our team was recognized for the innovative use of retailer signage that bridged language barriers, lifted sales, and allowed the retailer to be a part of the creative process.
In addition to the CSN Category Captains Award, fast-growing retailer Maverik—Adventure’s First Stop chose the Idaho Lottery for their 2023 Level Up Outstanding Vendor award. We were recognized for consistently delivering excellent service and aligning our growth plans for future vending installations. It’s a privilege to be recognized as their number one partner over recognized, national brand-name suppliers in the soft drink, energy drink, food, and all other categories.
Building strong partnerships with retailers is the key to mutual success for all lotteries.
Michigan Lottery
Jake Harris, Director, Player Relations
The Michigan Lottery (MSL) successfully launched in select Walmart stores across the state of Michigan. Nineteen self-service kiosks were placed in stores, giving Walmart customers the opportunity to purchase Lottery draw and instant games. Players can also now redeem Michigan Lottery coupons on the same machines.
Walmart is our first national, big-box retailer we have partnered with and could potentially lead to conversations and partnerships with other national chains. “The placement of self-service kiosks in Walmart stores will not only provide convenience to players, but it will also help us reach our goal of maximizing our contribution to the state’s School Aid Fund,” says Suzanna Shkreli, Commissioner, Michigan Lottery.
We are working closely with our independent and chain retailers to drive customers back into their stores. We collaborate with our retailers to promote MSL Lottery games through their apps and loyalty programs to drive business and promote engagement.
Florida Lottery
Jorge Alfonso, Director of Sales, Florida Lottery
We had several retail and sales-related accomplishments this past year. Most notably, we received legislative funding to implement a Sales Reward Plan based on sales representative performance in our Scratch-Off sales category. This will be a highly effective tool for driving sales growth and motivation. By offering a monetary incentive for exceeding sales targets, our sales representatives will be encouraged to focus on maximizing sales opportunities at retail locations.
We also received funding to add an additional five sales representatives to our team. Through a weekly retailer visit pilot, we were able to show a direct correlation between increased visitation from a sales representative and increased sales. Scratch-Off sales increased 3.28% on average at retail locations visited weekly. By increasing the frequency and quality of interactions with retailers, our sales representatives can build stronger relationships, provide better support, and execute more effective in-store promotions. This will lead to sales increases, as well as improved product placement and visibility.
We are also working with our wonderful chain partners, like Walmart, to increase sales distribution points with these vending machines. There are over 80 Walmart locations that will be receiving a second vending machine to achieve incremental sales on the general merchandise side of their stores.
We are on our way to making our Pick Daily Games a billion-dollar category. We are focusing on the promotion of these games at retail to increase sales. Our Pick Games are a favorite of our loyal players, offering a frequent play experience, which drives repeat business. By making the promotion of these games at retail an initiative, we are attracting new players and encouraging all players to make playing a Pick Game part of their daily routine. Our efforts in this initiative include incremental point-of-sale signage placements, statewide sales promotions, and incentivizing retailers with the highest Pick Games sales increases.
Our Scratch-Off product mix, placement, and visibility, continues to be a primary focus. Our sales team will be working closely with our retailer partners to ensure our products and overall brand is displayed in the most effective manner. With the help of our field sales managers, our sales team will be identifying locations that can benefit from a lottery makeover, which will include refreshed point-of-sale materials, equipment moves for better placement within the store, and a Scratch-Off dispenser upgrade. This initiative will provide an opportunity to encourage retailers to find the right product mix while maximizing the lottery space on the sales counter.
We will also continue to incorporate technology in our initiatives, as we have seen retailers welcoming it into their stores. We will continue to seek opportunities for digital jackpot and menu board placement, as well as piloting digital play tables to drive customers to a lottery purchase. This technology will not only attract new customers but also increase engagement and loyalty among our existing player base. We will measure the effectiveness of these initiatives by implementing promotions and scannable displays as drivers to specific game purchases.