SCIENTIFIC GAMES
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
COMPANY FOCUS
Casino game (on Facebook, iOS and android) is one of the world’s
most popular gaming themed products in the social space right
now. The lottery industry is just starting to get its hands around
how it might leverage that kind of content. How we come up with
secure outcomes on an electronic gaming machine or a video
lottery terminal are the same mechanics that we would use for a
lottery instant game via a browser or mobile device. So, while the
mechanics, the payouts and the players might be very different,
the core technical backbone is the same.
eGR: How will WMS enhance the operations of Scientific Games?
SB: The reach of what we offer to our North American and
international customers will really be able to expand with WMS
products. Today, less than 20% of WMS’s business is in the
international marketplace; at Scientific Games, it’s upwards of
50%. So we have a lot of international expansion potential and
cross-selling opportunities where we can offer WMS games to
our current lottery government entities, and WMS can offer SG
systems to casino customers.
eGR: Are any customers already benefiting from the joint
capabilities of your unified company?
SB: Today, we provide lottery games, keno, slot machines, sports
betting, and central monitoring and control systems for all of the
casino properties and the lottery in the State of Delaware. We
also are the prime contractor, along with 888, for the Delaware
Lottery’s new egaming platform that launched in November. We
plan to enhance this platform through the Williams Interactive
game server to add WMS Gaming and Barcrest slot content to
the egaming offering. This is a perfect example where a lottery
that manages a wide breadth of gaming systems, platforms and
products is able to take advantage of every single aspect of the
synergy of the SG-WMS merger.
eGR: How is consumer demand changing the lottery and gaming
industry?
SB: Consumers expect us to understand their preferences. The
idea of convergence is being able to complement a player’s
interaction in one channel by acknowledging their play in others.
So, if they’re at home looking at a big jackpot and engage in a
transaction, they are rewarded for their activity when they go to
the retail store, where they may receive a “two-for-one” instant
ticket or a free cup of coffee. We want to reward players when
they engage through all of these touch points.
eGR: What’s the biggest challenge facing lotteries today that the
combined company is best positioned to address?
SB: Lotteries are looking at ways to engage their players and, at
the same time, keep their tried-and-true content. Lotteries don’t
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We plan to enhance
this platform through the
Williams Interactive game
server. This is a perfect
example where a lottery that
manages a wide breadth
of gaming systems is able
to take advantage of every
single aspect of the synergy
of the SG-WMS merger
have systems right now to maximise all of the different channels –
as a result, they fear alienating their stakeholders, such as retailers,
which may already feel threatened by the launch of an interactive
channel. Lotteries need a provider that brings solutions to them,
keeps their stakeholders happy and maximises revenues across
all channels with new content.
eGR: Why does WMS stand out over other game content
providers?
SB: It’s been a lifetime dream to work with WMS. I remember
playing Williams pinball games; they were the first in the industry
to generate a tilt mechanism invented by their founder, Harry
Williams. They have a strong success record of industry firsts and
innovative content that appeals to players. During the 2013 Gobal
Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, WMS rolled out more content
than anyone else on the floor with new products such as two
different THE WIZARD OF OZ™ games and a STAR TREK™ game.
These games have appeal across m any age groups and we see
the exciting possibilities for taking that content and moving it to
lottery instant games and lottery-based matrixed games.
eGR: Do you think this will this lead to a new renaissance for
lotteries?
SB: I do – one thing big lottery games will never give up: the
dream of the big jackpot. That’s what we play for – and for the
good causes we help fund through the games.
The way we interact with lottery products is going to change.
Players will have a lot more choice, flexibility and reach. At the
end of day, it’s about bringing content and games to all the touch
points that lottery operators have.
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