Greg McKenzie, EVP & COO, OLG gave the welcome address at the 2018 Toronto conference.
Eighteen months ago, OLG set out on a new path of innovation. Their goal was to give world class gaming to the citizens of Ontario. “We’re moving into this realm of innovation,” said McKenzie.
Like most lotteries, OLG is finding it difficult to keep up with the shifting customer demographics. With record profits and revenue, McKenzie noted that is due to getting more money from the same customers. “We’re also competing for a gaming dollar that our monopoly environment just doesn’t quite go enough to allow us to compete any longer,” McKenzie said. “We see the benefits on one hand, but on the other, we’re not able to move our business forward.”
In an effort to move forward, McKenzie laid out OLG’s plan. They are launching a new player platform, new lottery terminals, a new web portal, and finally a new sports betting platform. “Investments are going on across the organization,” McKenzie said.
OLG also has its sights on future potential areas of growth. OLG is a founding sponsor of a NBA eSports team. Single event sports is another area that could bring large growth and has a lot of potential, not just from a revenue standpoint, but also a entertainment one.
But with innovation, OLG must also make strong commitment to responsible gaming. “We will continue to carry the same social responsibility, particularly from a responsible gaming standpoint, as we go forward. We are going to continue to build our ambition around our Play Smart brand,” said McKenzie.
“I wanted in the spirit of innovation theme share with you, not the solutions, because frankly we don’t have them but certainly the understanding of how we are tackling the challenge of getting to those solutions,” McKenzie said.