Florida Lottery Secretary Tom Delacenserie’s retail presentation examined Application Programming Interface (API) and cashless systems—two important initiatives receiving industry attention. API is software that allows two or more systems to communicate. “Our ‘lottery’ sales data is integrated into the retailers’ point of sale system,” he said.
Delacenserie said lack of data integration is negative to retailers and limiting to the lottery. It is an issue with a lottery’s existing corporate retailers.
The objectives with cashless is to optimize sales, increase profits, player satisfaction and support impulse purchases. Delacenserie noted it is “not as important as the data collection but something many consumers prefer since a declining number carry much cash. It is something the lottery industry has been somewhat immune from but it could change and impact future growth.”
API has the industry’s full attention. It is not new but it has not been implemented in the U.S. “API is basically a software program that allows one system to talk to another,” said Delacenserie. “In the case of retailers, it would be required if the lottery industry wanted to sell anything through the check lane, such as Powerball Quick Picks.”
Cashless systems are also critical since many consumers do not carry or pay in cash. But the industry needs to figure out who pays for the credit card fees.
