La Fleur’s Magazine’s new series—Quote of the Week—features interviews with lottery directors about what’s ahead for their organizations in fiscal 2022. We will feature a different director each week. This week we are spotlighting Michael Sweeney, Director, Massachusetts Lottery.
What’s ahead for your lottery in FY22?
“The Mass Lottery will be celebrating our 50th Anniversary in 2022 and we’re looking forward to commemorating the occasion with the communities that we support, our customers, our retailers and our employees, all of whom are part of the Lottery’s success story over the last five decades.
On the operations side, as part of our ongoing modernization efforts, we are preparing to move two existing data centers to enterprise class facilities. This is a formidable undertaking, but it is a critical one that will reduce the risk of a service interruption to our gaming systems, infrastructure and applications.
We are very excited about the recent full-scale launch of our mobile cashing app for prizes of $601 to $5,000. We will be focused on increasing the customer adoption rate of this technology so that the positive environmental impact of this feature can be maximized. This has the potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions from trips to our claim centers that will no longer be necessary. As more and more customers utilize this convenience, we are eager to quantify this impact.”
What book are you currently reading?
“Usually I try to read two books concurrently. It helps me to see patterns and ideas differently. Usually one non-fiction and one fiction. Right now I am reading The Power of Awareness by Dan Schilling and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, one of my favorite authors.”
Where do you plan to vacation in the next six months?
“My wife and I are expecting the third addition to our family the first week of December! So my immediate plans are a staycation in the land of diapers and burp cloths!”
Other comments
“More than ever, I think we all need to find ways to take a deep breath, communicate better and work from a place of genuine respect and caring. Before throwing a rock at someone, ask yourself what you actually know about the other person or the situation, have you taken the time to have a one-on-one conversation with them? Be your authentic self and the world will open up.”