– Sanam Bakhtiar, Director, Lottery Marketing, BCLC
– Gary Grief, Executive Director, Texas Lottery
– Moderator: Terri Markle, Publisher, La Fleur’s Magazine
The North American Scratcher Trends panel examined the trend to launch multi-jurisdictional instant games. The MUSL Product Development Sub-Committee developed two new multi-jurisdictional product concepts, which includes Power Spin (instant game modeled after The Big Spin), as new products.
Gary Grief, Executive Director, Texas Lottery: “We have an ambitious goal of doubling MUSL revenue in six years. We have averaged about 17% per year. There is great opportunity with multi-jurisdictional instant games. We are not afraid to steal a great idea. We got the idea for a Big Spin from our friends at OLG. It is a $5 instant with a 100 million print quantity. We need that many because of the mechanics of the game. Texas was willing to take 10 million. We have plenty of time and resources. We have a commitment for 25 million.
We found that there was something missing from the game. We have lotteries that have already made their numbers, why take a risk. You have some jurisdictions with new leadership. This is new territory and we have been more entrepreneurial. We came up with a core value systems for developing multi-jurisdictional games that must include flexibility, winnability and simple. We have to do a better job of developing a consensus.”
Sanam Bakhtiar, Director, Lottery Marketing, BCLC: “Nine years ago when I started in this role, there was one multi-jurisdictional game. Now there are anywhere between five and eight games. That is a lot more work. On average, 20% of sales come from national games. It is a major money maker. A new multi-jurisdictional game we are excited about is Roam. It is a travel ticket [targeted at U35s]. The game highlights 10 iconic travel destinations with unique experiences for each. We will have a micro site with travel bloggers writing about each.”