The new normal for lotteries
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Sazka Group is bidding for the UK's fourth National Lottery licence. Daniel O'Boyle talks to Sazkas CEO Robert Chvatal and the CEOs of OPAP and Austrian Lotteries about the lottery sector's post-pandemic recovery.
Robert Chvatal is the CEO of SAZKA Group. He explains the changes in society and the lottery industry in the last 18 months. The company has been innovative in its approach to digitalization and customer demand has remained. SAzKA's recent Q1 results are an indicator of how lotteries can thrive.
The greatest decline was recorded during the first lockdown for instant products and break-open tickets. Bettina Glatz-Kremsner (BGK) saw many players moving online. In 2020, gross gaming revenue from the electronic lotteries on Win2day increased by 27.8%.
Jan Karas (JK) and Jan Karus (OPAP) discuss the evolution of customer expectations and the transition from offline to online. Jan Kars saw an increase in online customers and revenues at OPAP after the lifting of the lockdowns.
The pandemic has not changed the demographic structure of who plays lotteries. The priority of Sazka Group is to protect the wellbeing and welfare of their employees and existing customers. Saza Group has an addressable market of over 79 million adults and delivers €2.0 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2020. Online penetration of the lottery segment has been picking up pace. Joker, the only lottery game offered online in Greece, attracted more than 160,000 new players. Most of them were male and aged 45 or older. The group is significant contributor to sport and society in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus and Italy.
RC, JK and BGK are talking about the new content that they released during lockdown. They are also talking of the responsible gambling and the Sazka Group's increased funding for player protection initiatives. . The Sazaa Group is the only Greek gaming group holding the highest responsible gaming certification – Level 4 – from the World Lotteries Association. It is also a core principle at Szaa. Group. Since 2015, the group has increased the funding of player protections by 29%. The group also has the most responsible games certification from World. Lottery Association and European Lotters’ Certificate of Alignment with Responsible Gaming Standards.
