www.PublicGaming.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Piet Van Baeveghem, Secretary General, EL Matthew Lynch, President of Digital, Scientific Games Matt Strawn, CEO, Iowa Lottery Also Featuring … How Allwyn Is Building a Global Gaming Entertainment Company Robert Chvátal Chief Executive Officer, Allwyn David Gale, Executive Director, NASPL Tina Wolf, VP of Business Development, Aristocrat Interactive

ILLUMINATING YOUR PATH TO GREATNESS LETTER FROM THE CEO To our valued clients and partners, Since we started 36 years ago, the gaming industry has evolved tremendously, and through it all, our global team has worked to keep GLI at the forefront of innovation. Setting the standard you can rely on means earning your trust every day by delivering on time, on budget, and with the high quality that defines our work. In the coming year, we’ll take an important step forward as we welcome a strategic investment partner who shares our values and long-term vision. This transition is about continuity, not change. It ensures GLI outlives its founders and remains the institution this industry can depend on, no matter what the next wave of advancements brings. Make no mistake — I’m not going anywhere. I will continue as your CEO alongside our full leadership team. For our clients and regulators, if anything feels different in your day-to-day interactions with GLI, we’ve missed the mark. Since my last open letter, 270 fully trained professionals have joined our global testing and delivery teams. This growth gives us the bandwidth to respond quickly when new markets open. We’ve also modernized the client journey through GLIAccess®, our digital platform that provides 24-hour access to project resources, real-time updates, and dedicated support. Security remains central to everything we do. Last year, GLI assumed management of Bulletproof’s Information Security Services (ISS) portfolio — including Cybersecurity Assessment, Audit and Compliance, and Strategy and Governance solutions — providing clients a seamless experience across testing, compliance, and security. At G2E 2025, we introduced an expanded GLI Gaming Security Framework, adding modules for vendor, land-based, and online gaming controls to reinforce what has become the industry’s benchmark for cybersecurity. Bulletproof will continue delivering managed IT and security services, including infrastructure solutions, cloud and compliance security, and its 24/7/365 managed portfolio to help clients modernize operations and reduce risk. Across the globe, we continue to expand in meaningful ways. We’ve opened new offices in Brazil and the Philippines, merged our GLI and Trisigma operations in Spain and the Netherlands, and moved our iTech operations to Bulgaria and India, all to better serve our 2,000+ clients worldwide. Every improvement, whether in technology, process, or global reach, serves to illuminate your path to greatness. We’re proud to lead as the first to set the standard; the best in expertise and integrity; and the only organization with the experience, scale, and reach to support you at every stage of innovation. None of it would be possible without the 1,600+ team members behind our work, whose dedication earns the trust you place in GLI every day — trust we value and never take for granted. I look forward to seeing you somewhere on the globe. gaminglabs.com James Maida Founder & CEO, Gaming Laboratories International “We’re proud to set the standard, and light the way, in over 710 jurisdictions.”

Animal Photography © avantipress.com © 2026 Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation. The trademarks and/or service marks used herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation, its affiliates, or its licensors. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BrightstarLottery.com Smile. Laugh. Gift. Scratch. Avanti Press has entertained the world with feel-good funny greeting cards for 45 years! They connect people from all walks of life through the universal language of laughter. Avanti characters are sure to put a smile on your players’ faces. It’s not just an instant ticket anymore – it’s a personalized gift perfect for any holiday or special occasion!

4 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Publisher & Chief Executive Officer Paul Jason pjason@publicgaming.com President Susan Jason sjason@publicgaming.com Brand and Design Dan Eggers Design Honored Founders Doris & Duane Burke Subscriptions United States: $145 USD Canada & Mexico: $160 USD All other countries: $225 USD For email address changes, subscription requests and requests to be placed on our e-Newsletter distribution list, e-mail Susan Jason at sjason@publicgaming.com Contact Information PGRI, Inc. 1769 Flagstone Terrace, The Villages, FL 32162 PublicGaming.com T: +425.449.3000 F: +206.374.2600 Public Gaming International Magazine Published six times a year and distributed to readers all around the world. Electronic version is e-mailed and is also available on our news website: PublicGaming.com November/December 2026 Volume 55, Issue 1 ©2025 all rights reserved. Public Gaming Research Institute cISSN: 1042-1912 CONTENTS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 FEATURED INTERVIEWS 10 LOTTERY-LED, FUTUREFOCUSED: HOW ALLWYN IS BUILDING A GLOBAL GAMING ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY Robert Chvátal Chief Executive Officer, Allwyn 26 ENTERTAINMENT, NOT CHANNELS: BUILDING LOTTERY EXPERIENCES FOR DIGITAL-NATIVE PLAYERS Matthew Lynch President of Digital, Scientific Games 18 E-INSTANTS: A TRANSATLANTIC CONVERSATION ON LOTTERY INNOVATION Piet Van Baeveghem Secretary General, EL (European Lotteries Association) and David Gale Executive Director, NASPL (North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries)

6 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Visit Our Family Of Websites PublicGaming.com industry news & information PGRITalks.com videos of conference presentations PublicGaming.org PGRI conference information PGRIDigitalLibrary.com magazine archive of past issues PGRIDirectory.com listing of lotteries and vendors PGRIAwards.com Showcase of industry honorees recognized by the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame PGRI Lifetime Achievement Award Sharp Award for Good Causes Lottery Industry Statesman and Stateswoman Award Rebecca Paul Mentorship Award Collaboration Award Subscribe To Our Free Digital Newsletters Receive our daily newsletters at no charge, published 5 times a week to bring you the latest breaking news in the global lottery industry. Send an e-mail to: sjason@PublicGaming.com with “add to Daily Digest list” in the subject line. 8 FROM THE PUBLISHER Paul Jason 37 SCENES FROM EL CONGRESS BERN, SEPTEMBER 14-17: Photo Collage 42 HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY AT EL CONGRESS, BERN: Photo Collage 45 TIME TO ACT….THE DUTY TO DEFEND THE LOTTERY MODEL ALL OVER THE WORLD Philippe Vlaemminck, Managing Director of Vlaemminck.law Beata Guzik, Lawyer and Director EU public Affairs, Vlaemminck.law DEPARTMENTS 14 IOWA LOTTERY AT 40: SCRATCHING OFF $6.1B IN PRIZES SINCE 1985 CEO Matt Strawn reflects on how the operation became ‘one of the quietest’ half-billion-dollar enterprises in the state 16 GET READY TO BE INSPIRED! ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS, OWNING THE NARRATIVE, AND GETTING LOUD ABOUT THE MISSION Harjinder Shergill Chima, Director of the California Lottery Dolly Garfield, Executive Director, South Carolina Lottery Helene Keeley, Executive Director, Delaware Lottery Adam Prock, Executive Director, Minnesota Lottery Brian Rockey, Director, Nebraska Lottery Alec Thomson, Executive Director, Arizona Lottery 20 BIG LESSONS FROM A SMALLER LOTTERY MARKET: LITHUANIA’S GROWTH STORY SCIENTIFIC GAMES 22 FROM NETFLIX TO iLOTTERY & LEVERAGING AI: Inside Brightstar Lottery’s Game Recommendation Engine 30 FROM DABBERS TO DOWNLOADS: AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE EVOLVING PLAYER Tina Wolf, VP of Business Development, Aristocrat Interactive 32 TEST, VALIDATE, INNOVATE: HOW CAN YOU REFINE A GAME POST-LAUNCH TO MORE FULLY SATISFY PLAYER PREFERENCES? Brightstar Lottery FEATURED ARTICLES

8 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 From the Publisher Lottery is in the middle of a quiet reinvention. The core promise—providing safe, widely available games that fund good causes—has not changed. No other game category elevates Responsible Gaming to the mission-critical role as Lottery. But the way gaming brands, including Lottery, earn attention, build trust, deliver entertainment, and retain playership is changing fast. Our interviews and editorials track that shift through global operators scaling across borders, the fast-moving world of digital instants, and experience design for players who expect personalization, convenience, and responsible guardrails. CEO Robert Chvátal has led Allwyn on an ambitious growth plan that began 15 years ago and now includes lottery operations in the Austrian, Greek, Cypriot, Italian and UK markets, and with the acquisition of Camelot in 2023, includes the operation of the Illinois Lottery. Robert shares the vision that has brought Allwyn to this inflexion point along with the strategies and corporate culture that will propel ongoing growth. E-Instants are now a centerpiece of portfolio modernization: more animated, content-rich instant play online. But their rise also sharpens the question, “What makes a lottery product a lottery product?” EL’s Piet Van Baeveghem and NASPL’s David Gale compare European and North American perspectives on definitions, risk, and regulation—and on how the industry’s premier trade associations can help lotteries evolve responsibly and successfully. Players don’t think in channels; they think in experiences. Matthew Lynch shares how Scientific Games uses licensed brands and linked promotions to create connected retail-and-digital engagement, why extended-play mechanics keep growing, and how AI recommendations can reduce choice overload. We also explore why registration is the gateway to better Customer Experience (CX), smarter CRM, and safer personalization. A reminder that scale can be “quiet” and still remarkable. This profile traces the Iowa Lottery’s 40-year arc—from the first tickets at the State Fair to a half-billion-dollar annual enterprise. With billions in sales and returns to the general fund and veterans’ programs, CEO Matt Strawn reflects on security, logistics, and the human side of seeing winners on their best days. A brutal opening poll—100% disagreement that beneficiaries and stakeholders are outspoken in their support of lottery—sets the tone for a candid session moderated by California Lottery Director Harjinder Shergill Chima. The panel focuses on earning visible advocates, improving how we tell the beneficiary story, and turning impact from a budget line into messages that lawmakers, media, and communities appreciate and actually repeat. Lithuania’s operator Olifėja shows how disciplined portfolio management can turn an underperforming instant category into a growth engine. This article follows how Scientific Games’ decade-long partnership with Olifėja was built on research-led optimization, new price points, and steady product change—while weathering the euro transition and COVID disruption. The takeaway: sustained growth often comes from patient, data-informed execution. As iLottery catalogs balloon, discovery becomes a retention problem. Brightstar’s recommendation engine applies familiar “streaming” logic—using player behavior and game attributes to suggest relevant titles, surface trending games, and reduce choice overload. Done right, personalization doesn’t just drive revenue; it improves satisfaction and supports responsible engagement by guiding players to games that fit their playstyles and motivations. Tina Wolf, Aristocrat Interactive, connects demographics to strategy: younger adults are more likely to play across channels, and cross-channel players report higher play frequency. Tina explores how digital convenience can and should complement the retail mission—and how connected tools like ticket checking, mobile wallets, and retail cashout strengthen the ecosystem. The message: design around modern lifestyles, not legacy silos. A new game launch is just the beginning. Using a recent example from Italy, Brightstar outlines how real-world data can reveal unexpected preferences—and how disciplined iteration can improve performance. The framework emphasizes measuring the right behaviors, isolating which features drive engagement, and treating post-launch tuning as a repeatable, systematic, innovation habit rather than a one-off fix. Philippe Vlaemminck and Beata Guzik of Vlaemminck.law make a pressing case for protecting the public lottery model amid aggressive online gambling growth. They argue that governments may pursue controlled expansion policies—offering attractive, well-regulated lottery products as a “safe harbor,” paired with high responsible-gaming standards. Their call is clear: modernize, communicate, and defend the principles that make lottery different from all other games-of-chance operators. Looking ahead, a large contingent of the global community of lottery professionals convenes on Barcelona for the WLA/EL Marketing Seminar and the ICE Totally Gaming trade show during the week of Jan. 20. Then we hope to see you all at PGRI Smart-Tech Conference in Ft Lauderdale March 10-12. Check out photos of the biannual EL Congress on page 37 and PGRI Hall of Fame ceremonies on page 42. And see NASPL.org, European-Lotteries. org, and PublicGaming.org for details, registration, and updates. Let’s keep raising the bar—for innovation, responsibility, and impact. Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine

22 Total Progressive Jackpot Payouts 11 New Jackpot Games Average Unique Daily Players +21% +45% Transactions 219 Games in Portfolio iLOTTERY Data includes Jan-Nov 2025 and applies to eInstants games only. © 2026 Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation. Any trademarks and/or service marks used herein are trademarks of Brightstar Global Solutions Corporation. © 2026 IGT. CATS AND ELEPHANT KING are trademarks of IGT. Prize Tap™ New eInstant Category 2025 WRAP-UP $2,151,943 Largest Jackpot Payout New Innovation Game Recommendation Engine Sales +39% 185 #1 Fastest Growing US iLottery Customers Customer Game Deliveries Top 3 Games AI-Generated Games

10 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Lottery-Led, Future-Focused: How Allwyn Is Building a Global Gaming Entertainment Company Robert Chvátal Chief Executive Officer, Allwyn Paul Jason: Allwyn seems to be on the cutting edge of reinventing what it means to be a “lottery” company, adding new game categories and distributional strategies. What will “lottery” look like in 3 or 5 years? Robert Chvátal: Our vision is to be the leading gaming entertainment company in the world. We are proudly lottery-led: they are our foundation and remain the bedrock of our business, contributing over 70% of gross gaming revenue. But for us as a business, the diversification you have seen into areas such as sports betting, iGaming and, most recently, daily fantasy sports, is something that makes sense for Allwyn – it means more flexibility, more innovation, and more exciting ways to play our games – resulting in a materially enhanced consumer offer. It reflects what our consumers are showing us they want, with products that are more social, fast-paced and innovative such as free-to-play and peer-to-peer. Bringing greater novelty and excitement across the board, whether it’s through traditional drawbased games with new features, or through new product areas, is central to what we need to do to ensure we are ahead of the curve. If you don’t keep innovating in this space, you fall behind. PGRI INTERVIEWS PGRI Introduction: Allwyn, formerly Sazka Group, is a multi-national gaming entertainment company headquartered in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded by entrepreneur Karel Komarek, its journey began with the acquisition of Czech lottery operator Sazka in 2011. Over the past 15 years, the company has gradually expanded its lottery operations across Europe to cover the Austrian, Greek, Cypriot, Italian and UK markets. In 2023, with the acquisition of Camelot, the company gained a foothold in the United States through the operation of the Illinois Lottery. At the same time, the company’s operations have grown beyond its lottery-led foundation to include minority stakes in sports betting operator Betano and German reseller NextLotto, as well as a majority share in leading eInstants content provider Instant Win Gaming (IWG). Allwyn has also announced its intention to acquire majority stakes in sports betting operator Novibet, leading daily fantasy sports outfit PrizePicks, and a business combination with OPAP, in which it already owns a 51.78% share. This last transaction would, once completed, lead to the company being listed on the Athens Stock Exchange in 2026. Alongside these significant acquisitions, Allwyn has made notable investments in its global brand through partnerships with the McLaren Formula 1 team and Formula 1 itself, and is rebranding Sazka and OPAP to bring them under the Allwyn name in January 2026. After another packed year for Allwyn, we took the opportunity to speak with Robert Chvátal, the group’s CEO, about what he’s been working on and what comes next for Allwyn. Hoch Zwei Photography

12 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Continued on page 28 We also recently agreed to combine Allwyn and Greek gaming champion, OPAP, in which we already hold a majority stake. This marks a major milestone in the evolution of both companies and, once completed, will result in a public market listing for Allwyn, unlocking access to equity capital markets to fuel our future growth. Allwyn is on a super ambitious track of acquisitions, especially in the online gaming space and sports betting. How do acquisitions support Allwyn’s strategy and growth? Can you talk about IWG, Prize Picks, Novibet, OPAP etc.? What is the split between organic and inorganic growth? R. Chvátal: In the simplest terms, we want to be modernising lotteries organically through increased digitalisation, creating our own content, powered by our own technology, while being present in the most cutting-edge areas of innovation in the gaming space. We have a huge wealth of talent and skill within our existing business to do this. Our inorganic growth supports this strategy through acquisitions in areas we are less well-established, and all our acquisitions are subject to rigorous due diligence from our investment team to ensure that deals are highly complementary and a good strategic fit for the business. IWG is a best-in-class e-instants content provider, with IWG supplying nearly all US states that offer e-Instants. This year it was awarded ‘Lottery Supplier of the Year’ at the 2025 EGR Awards. Novibet has its own, hugely impressive tech stack – and we’re hopeful that that transaction will be completed early in the new year. Fantasy Sports operator PrizePicks, of course, is a completely new avenue for the business, and a unique opportunity to enter the strategically important sports and entertainment industry in the U.S., which is a market we’re very focused on. With OPAP comes the opportunity to be a listed business, a natural next step in our growth journey, combining institutional strength in one of the fastestgrowing gaming markets with an international proposition that we hope OPAP’s minority shareholders will find compelling. These acquisitions increase Allwyn’s exposure to fast-growing and opportunityrich markets – to the benefit of players and communities alike. They support our vision to become the world’s leading gaming entertainment company, building on our strong foundation as a leading multi-national lottery operator. What is the benefit to acquiring majority ownership as opposed to just buying the products and services from third-party suppliers? R. Chvátal: We do have minority interests in several companies, for example Betano and NextLotto, so our investments overall consist of a mix. But there are a few benefits to majority ownership – including a greater say in the direction of those businesses and, in some instances, the ability to harness technology and content across the Allwyn group, driving synergies and improving performance for the benefit of all our customers. We look at each investment on a case-by-case basis – in the instance of PrizePicks, once completed, that will remain a fully independent business within the Allwyn group. What are your plans for the U.S. going forward? What other geographies are you excited about? R. Chvátal: As a European-headquartered and founded business, Europe has always been our home and its markets are wellregulated and established. But the U.S. brings significant scale and opportunity. With an active user base of millions of monthly players, rapidly-growing revenues and high margins, as well as a presence in more than 45 U.S. jurisdictions, our acquisition of PrizePicks gives Allwyn a nearnational presence and markedly increases our footprint there. We’ve been in the U.S. since 2023, through our acquisition of Camelot and, therefore, the Illinois Lottery. Acquiring PrizePicks will give us another foothold and allow us to be present in the world’s largest gaming market in a different category which is extremely dynamic and fast growing. That’s hugely exciting. The DFS space is extremely dynamic and fast-growing. We need to be investing in those new, innovative spaces to ensure we are catering to the consumers of tomorrow and exceeding their expectations. What is your brand strategy? For instance, why are you moving from the established brands over to the Allwyn brand in the Czech Republic and Greece? How do the Formula 1 and McLaren sponsorships contribute to that? R. Chvátal: The partnerships between Allwyn, McLaren and Formula 1 bring together brands underpinned by innovation and high performance and are a natural next step in our brand evolution. This particular kind of brand partnership is a first for a lottery operator, but a move which demonstrates the extent of our international ambitions and which is driving increased awareness among a diverse community of millions of highly engaged fans. Rebranding Sazka and OPAP also fits into this. These are heritage brands with great affection and history in their markets, but by making the strategic choice to adopt the Allwyn name, we’re bringing newness, innovation and a sense of being part of something more international. And there are notable synergies and economies of scale that come from further deployment of the Allwyn brand. In turn, these enhance the value and logic of significant brand investments such as the McLaren and Formula 1 sponsorships. Allwyn’s mission statement puts responsible gaming and CSR front and center. What can we as an industry do to elicit more support from shapers of public policy as they decide who should be licensed to operate, and the standards that commercial operators should be also held accountable to? How can we continue to build strong relationships with regulators? R. Chvátal: First and foremost, we want to be a trusted partner of governments and regulators everywhere we operate. We work closely with government and regulatory partners to support the fight against illegal gambling and prevent harm. CSR and responsible gaming are central to our objectives – from the way we protect players through safer game design and increased use of technology to detect and intervene in problematic behaviour, to ensuring we operate in a way that is socially responsible across the board. One of the best ways to do this is to show what the industry is already doing as well as what we at Allwyn are doing, whether that’s through Between 2019 and 2024, the share of gross gaming revenue coming from digital leapt from 4% to 39% across the group.

NORTH AMERICAN iLOTTERY LEADER Live Not yet live *Source: U.S. State Lotteries & Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC **Source: Gross sales per capita for both retail and iLottery is from reported data in La Fleur's FY21€25 Sales Reports. iLottery is estimated based on average game payouts. Lotteries that have Aristocrat Interactive as their iLottery platform and content provider have had 42% growth in the past five years (vs. 5% for lotteries using other vendor iLottery platforms and content).**

14 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Sales of the first Iowa Lottery tickets began in 1985 with a kickoff celebration at the Iowa State Fair. Forty years later, state fairgoers broke the Guinness World Record for the most people — 1,380 — to scratch lottery cards simultaneously, demonstrating the lottery’s journey from $1 scratch tickets to a multibilliondollar enterprise. Since its launch was approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Terry Branstad, the lottery has generated $10.4 billion in sales and paid out $6.1 billion in prizes. Lottery revenues support many state programs, returning $2.5 billion to the general fund and $42 million to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund since inception. Players have won as much as $343.9 million, and redeemed 189 tickets worth $1 million or more since the game’s inception. Players who win $250,000 or more redeem them at the Iowa Lottery’s headquarters in Clive. Smaller prizes between $600 and $250,000 are redeemed at the lottery’s regional offices in Cedar Rapids, Mason City and Storm Lake, while prizes of $600 or less are redeemed at retailers. “We’re very fortunate to see a lot of people on their best day. There aren’t a lot of people who get to do that in their day-to-day jobs,” said Matt Strawn, who became the organization’s third CEO in 2019. The lottery’s first CEO was Edward Stanek and second was Terry Rich. Today, the Iowa Lottery functions as a statewide organization with tightly controlled security and logistics with 108 employees and 2,500 retail partners. The lottery brings in about $500 million in revenue annually and functions as part of the Iowa Department of Revenue. It’s overseen by a commission and reviewed annually by the state auditor’s office. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand said reviewing state agency data, such as payroll records, helps prevent potential problems. “When people know the auditor is coming and people know the auditor can look at what’s going on, that not only helps catch problems, but helps prevent them,” Sand said. Most of the lottery’s profits go to the state’s general fund to help pay for education, natural resources protection, health services, public safety needs and more. The first $2.5 million goes directly to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund, which helps veterans pay for needed services. “It’s one of the quietest half-a-billion-dollar annual revenue enterprises in the state,” said Strawn, who grew up on his family’s farm in Benton County and has worked in many roles throughout the years. He spent 10 years on Capitol Hill, served as chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, was co-owner of the Iowa Barnstormers Arena Football League team and an entrepreneur. “It’s a little more indirect,” he added, “but if you think of all the things that get funded by the Legislature that ultimately start with an Iowan purchasing a lottery product, I think about that value proposition when the state decided to have its lottery 40 years ago in 1985.” IOWA LOTTERY AT 40: SCRATCHING OFF $6.1B IN PRIZES SINCE 1985 Re-printed from The Iowa Business Journal By Gigi Wood, Nov 21, 2025

15 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Continued on page 24 Under the hood: Increasing complexity The Iowa Lottery has become exceedingly more complex throughout the years. Players can spend as little as 50 cents or as much as $50 per ticket to play scratch tickets. “About two-thirds of our total revenue comes from scratch tickets,” Strawn said. “That is the straw that stirs the drink that is the Iowa Lottery.” Other games include non-scratch tickets and multistate games like the Powerball and Mega Millions, making for a lot of money exchanging hands. “The evolution of the state’s lottery, the complexity of the technology that undergirds the gaming system, I can’t imagine that was something that was remotely envisioned with that first simple paper ticket,” Strawn said. For example, he added, someone who had a win on a lottery ticket in 1985 could only get paid out by the store that sold them that ticket. Now, he said, with cross validation, they can go to any lottery retailer and claim their prize. Most people in the community see the celebration when someone wins a lottery jackpot, but there is much more to the organization than oversized checks. There are three separate companies that print lottery tickets. “[The public] sees the confetti cannons that go off when you’re giving away a million-dollar check, and the picture that’s in the paper, on the news or showing up in your digital feed, but when you peek under the hood at the lottery, you realize the amount of logistics that go into moving our product around the state,” Strawn said. To keep games relevant and appealing to the public, the lottery will produce new ticket styles and games periodically. Concept to market for new ticket styles is about six to eight months, including design, graphic art production, putting together a price structure and working with printers on the new design. Last winter, the lottery began selling a Pac-Man ticket and this past summer, dinosaurs donned the new Jurassic World scratch game. Licensing fees for tickets that incorporate major brands are expensive, so incorporating those types of tickets into the lineup is done infrequently. “We’re not immune to the rising input costs that everyone has felt, particularly with the print product. The logistics associated with transporting that product around, getting it to Ankeny where the central warehouse is and then distributing it out weekly to retailers,” Strawn said. “It’s a much more complex business when you think about everything that goes into putting that $5 scratch ticket on the counter.” Earlier this year, the lottery partnered with Fareway stores to install technology to sell lottery tickets at checkout. Doing so meant integrating three software systems with varying code and security requirements: Fareway’s point-of-sale system, the national lottery gaming system and the Iowa Lottery’s central gaming system. It’s also a split tender system; because the lottery has age restrictions, tickets cannot be bought with credit cards. Tickets are printed on the same paper as grocery receipts, but printed separately. The national lottery system has developed a specific application programming interface, or API, for this purpose. “I can see a future where lottery functionality is embedded into the releases of those point-of-sale platforms,” said Strawn, who is also vice president of the board of directors of the Multi-State Lottery Association. Upping the ante on security The lottery uses a predictive ordering system and a sales staff to determine which retailers need tickets replenished. Orders go to the organization’s Ankeny warehouse, are picked like in any typical warehouse and shipped out weekly. When tickets are sent to retailers, they are sent in secure bags yet they have no monetary value until they are checked in at a store. “Those tickets are effectively inert while they are in transport and in shipments. Then the individual retailer determines what their process is once those tickets arrive in store,” Strawn said. “Some retailers, depending on what their control process is, will wait for the lottery sales rep to come to the store to effectively hit the tickets with the [barcode reader], and the point-of-sale system activates those tickets and provides value to those tickets. Some stores will empower their own staff to do that, it depends on what their internal processes and accounting mechanisms are.” Lottery sales representatives visit retailers to check shipments and inventory levels and educate managers on promotions and compliance initiatives. There is also an investigations team, composed of former law enforcement officers, who conduct unannounced and undercover compliance checks of retailers and look into any theft allegations. They will work with corporate retail chain security personnel and communicate with local county prosecutors on issues. “There are all these little nuances that come with this product, and there is a constant effort to stay one step ahead of folks that maybe see the lottery as an easy target,” he said. “I would caution them, it is not. “When you think of the sophistication that is built into the tracking of a lottery product; we have the ability to pinpoint if somebody steals a lottery product and tries to cash it in. Of course, most of the convenience stores or grocery stores these days have internal security footage that we’re able to draw upon.” A conversation about Iowa Lottery security isn’t complete without mention of the Eddie Tipton scandal. Tipton, former information security director at the Multi-State Lottery Association, confessed to rigging random number generators to rig lottery drawings. In 2015, he was convicted of rigging a 2010 $14.3 million Hot Lotto drawing. He later confessed to rigging other drawings in multiple states. He was convicted and served a five-year prison sentence. Theresa Valada, a member of the Des Moines Community Playhouse, kept a sunny smile through the rainy weather on the first day of Iowa Lottery sales as she greeted State Fair visitors while in costume as a lottery MoneyBags character. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Lottery.

16 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 Continued on page 29 The panel, moderated by Harjinder Shergill Chima, Director of the California Lottery, brought together: • Dolly Garfield, Executive Director, South Carolina Lottery • Helene Keeley, Executive Director, Delaware Lottery • Adam Prock, Executive Director, Minnesota Lottery • Brian Rockey, Director, Nebraska Lottery • Alec Thomson, Executive Director, Arizona Lottery Six lottery directors talked about the ways they engage constituents (and everyone is a constituent), the hard work of changing misperceptions, and the urgency of turning passive stakeholders into active advocates. From “Who Are You?” to “We’ve Got Your Back” Harjinder Chima opened by explaining how the topic came out of necessity in California. “When I was appointed director,” she said, “the first reaction in a lot of quarters was, ‘Who is this person?’ So we knew we had to introduce me and, frankly, reintroduce the California Lottery after years of change. Stakeholder engagement wasn’t optional— it was survival.” For Adam Prock, effective engagement begins well before a crisis. “We all have a long list of stakeholders we think we’re communicating with,” he said. “But the real test is: are we building relationships that create advocates and ambassadors? Effective engagement is about finding common ground and investing in people long before you need them.” Harjinder agreed: “You can’t wait until you need a vote or a quote. If you’re quiet, they’ll fill that silence with their own story—and it might not be your story.” Dolly Garfield framed the shift even more starkly. “Our old mantra was, ‘Keep your head down, stay quiet, don’t attract attention, and hope everyone just leaves us alone,’” she said. “I’m done with that. I’m about rocking it.” For Dolly, that means redefining who the “player” is. “We’re not just marketing to people who want to win big,” she said. “We’re also marketing to people who want to do good. The parent who buys a raffle ticket at a school fundraiser—that’s our person. I want them to know that when they buy a lottery ticket, they’re supporting scholarships—just like that fundraiser. We need a base of supporters, not just buyers.” Bringing Stakeholders Inside the Engine Room Several panelists argued that the fastest way to build trust is to open the doors—literally. Brian Rockey has been tied to the Nebraska Lottery since its inception in 1993. Early on, he and his colleagues traveled the state doing what he fondly called the “dog-and-pony show” with beneficiaries. PANEL DISCUSSION This Article is based on a panel discussion held at PGRI Lottery Expo Nashville on November 6 Get ready to be inspired! Engaging Stakeholders, Owning the Narrative, and Getting Loud About the Mission! At the very start of the session, the audience was asked a simple polling question: “It’s wonderful how our lottery beneficiaries, political constituents, media and stakeholders are so outspoken in their support of their state lottery. Agree or disagree?” The result was brutal: 100% disagreed. That unanimous verdict set the tone for a candid, high-energy conversation about what Team Lottery can do to earn visible, vocal support from beneficiaries, lawmakers, media, and the public. Left to right: Harjinder Shergill Chima, Adam Prock, Dolly Garfield, Brian Rockey, Alec Thomson, Helene Keeley,

18 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 E-Instants: A Transatlantic Conversation on Lottery Innovation Piet Van Baeveghem Secretary General, EL (European Lotteries Association) David Gale Executive Director, NASPL (North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries Paul Jason: Besides specific criteria that are defined by national, state, or jurisdictional legislation, are there universal characteristics that e-instants share with other forms of lottery games, and that make them different from casino games? David Gale: Across jurisdictions, e-instants share several foundational characteristics with traditional lottery products that distinguish them from casino-style games. At their core, e-instants are lottery games of chance with predetermined outcomes, governed by a central system and subject to the same public-interest mandates that apply to draw games and scratch tickets. Importantly, e-instants are designed and offered within a highly regulated, government-authorized framework, where revenues support public beneficiaries and responsible gaming protections are embedded by design. Piet Van Baeveghem: Absolutely! Lottery games are fundamentally different from casino games, and there are several reasons for this. Lotteries are organised for the benefit of society - to support good causes - whereas casino games are primarily focused on entertainment and amusement for the player. The public-interest purpose inherently means a lower payout percentage for lottery games than for casino games. While this may sound technical, it fundamentally shapes the player experience and the perception of winning. Another key distinction lies in player interaction. The outcome of an e-instant, like all lottery games, cannot be influenced by the PGRI INTERVIEWS PGRI Introduction: As lotteries continue to modernise their product portfolios, e-Instants have emerged as one of the most important product innovations of recent years. The online offering of lottery games has created new opportunities to offer more animated instant games alongside traditional drawbased products and scratch cards. At the same time, the rise of increasingly animated online games has raised important regulatory and strategic questions. In some jurisdictions where both online casino games and e-Instants are offered, tensions have emerged - particularly when casino games appear visually similar to e-Instants at first glance. These developments have prompted some regulators to question more openly the distinction between e-Instants and online casino games. At national level, there may always exist very specific criteria that determine whether a game is considered a lottery product or another type of game. Beyond this, there are also more universal characteristics distinguishing lottery and casino games, alongside the ongoing evolution of other products that incorporate gambling features. Against this backdrop, it is a timely moment for discussion. Bringing together European and North American perspectives, this interview with Piet Van Baeveghem, Secretary General, EL & David Gale, Executive Director, NASPL, explores why e-Instants matter for the future of lotteries and how they can continue to evolve while respecting traditional lottery features and regulatory expectations worldwide. Both see a leading role for their Associations to contribute to this debate.

19 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 player. By contrast, casino games typically allow players to have an impact on the result. Lottery games also operate based on a prize table, which is not the case for casino games. Generally, dynamics further underline the difference. Casino games are characterised by fast gameplay. This is not the case for lottery games. Even though e-instants are the fastest variant of lottery games, the gameplay is slower simply because an e-instant lottery game is purchased and not ‘played’ like a casino game. Casino games are played in series, but this is not the case for lottery games, which are purchased individually. This distinction is also reflected in player behaviour. There is no player who connects with an online casino website just to play one casino game. But players do connect with an online lottery website for that reason. These universal characteristics mean that the gaming experience of e-instants is fundamentally different from that of online casino games. In a lot of countries regulation depends on the level of risk associated with games of chance. Lotteries are in general considered to represent a lower risk than casino games. Casino operators point out that e-instants represent a risk level that is similar to casino games. Do you consider that e-instants have a similar risk level to casino games? P. Van Baeveghem: Not at all. E-instants present a lower risk level than online casino games - which has much to do with the way different games stimulate player behaviour, such as dopamine production Online casino games are typically characterised by high frequency, rapid repetition, and continuous play. They often create an illusion of player control, incorporate near wins, and rely heavily on extra sensory experiences. All these elements stimulate dopamine. If e-instants add a game element or create the illusion of a game by perhaps giving the player a few choices without any impact, this is rather to cope with a growing societal trend of gamification. The comparison made by some online casino operators is often intended to create confusion in the minds of regulators so that they, online casinos, would be subject to less stringent rules than lotteries are subject to. However, it is not only the characteristics of the game that must be taken into account, but also the game operator. The identity and behaviour of the operator matter. Lottery operators – our own association members – operate with transparent commitments to responsible gaming standards that include ongoing monitoring in this regard. This provides an additional guarantee that the risk factors associated with the game have been taken into account, putting player protection as the highest priority. Another important factor in terms of risk is whether one has exclusive rights or is active in a market with multiple competitors offering similar games that are in direct competition with each other. D. Gale: No, we do not view e-instants as having an inherently similar risk level to casino games. Risk is not defined by visual presentation or speed alone, but by game mechanics, frequency, wagering structure, and safeguards. E-instants are designed within controlled parameters that include limits on prize structures, clear disclosure of odds, mandatory responsible gaming tools, and strong age and identity verification. These elements align e-instants more closely with traditional lottery products. Casino games, by contrast, often involve continuous play, higher event frequency, variable player interaction, and dynamic wagering options. These structural differences are not just cosmetic – they fundamentally shape player experience, risk profile, and regulatory treatment. That said, we strongly believe that player health must remain central to product evolution. As digital lottery products grow in popularity, lotteries and regulators must continually assess play data, monitor behavioral indicators, and adjust safeguards where appropriate. This is why NASPL supports evidence-based risk assessment and ongoing collaboration with regulators, researchers, and responsible gaming experts. How can suppliers of e-instant games help lotteries to create more transparency about the nature of e-instants towards their regulators and their players? For example, should suppliers certify how e-instants are functioning and that they have universal characteristics of lottery games? D. Gale: Suppliers can play a critical role in supporting transparency and trust. First and foremost, suppliers should ensure clear explanation of game mechanics, including how outcomes are determined, how odds and prize structures are set, and how responsible gaming features are integrated. Independent testing and certification can and should be leveraged to clearly demonstrate that e-instants function as lottery games of chance, not casino-style wagering. Alignment with recognized frameworks such as the WLA Responsible Gaming Certification provides regulators and players with confidence that products meet internationally accepted standards. Equally important is collaboration. Transparency is most effective when suppliers, lotteries, and regulators work together to ensure that player-facing communications are clear, accurate, and accessible. P. Van Baeveghem: I believe that suppliers play an essential role in explaining game mechanics to regulators, but also in providing clarity about the nature of the player experience. Suppliers offering both online casino games and e-instants have access to extensive data and are familiar with the technical and behavioural differences between these different types of games. Providing clarity is a sector-wide responsibility. . Consider that e-instant games sometimes use certain images or symbols that are also used for casino games: does this mean, in your opinion, that players could have a similar gaming experience to casino games, or is the gaming experience not comparable, for example, due to the course of the game, the degree of interaction that can influence the result, the higher payout, or other differentiating factors? P. Van Baeveghem: The idea that the use of certain symbols or images would result in an identical gaming experience seems greatly exaggerated to me. The reality is that game symbols are used as a kind of “market demarcation”. In a context where there are several operators - some of which have a monopoly - the legislator or regulator has to draw a line somewhere. Whether market demarcation based on such symbols is relevant is another question. A scratch card with a blackjack game theme, for example, does not create an experience identical to the casino game. The player experience is in fact quite different. We have evolved to the extent that we no longer need to measure a gaming experience in terms of symbols, but instead we can Continued on page 44

Through a decade-long partnership with Scientific Games, Olifėja transformed instant scratchcard games from an underperformer into a reliable growth engine. For years, Lithuania’s lottery market struggled to unlock the potential of instant scratchcard games. Today, it’s a very different story: scratchcard sales are up 12% year-to-date in 2025 compared to 2024 and these games have become the backbone of growth for Olifėja, the country’s largest and oldest lottery. The turnaround, more than a decade in the making, offers valuable lessons for lotteries worldwide. From Modest Beginnings to Missed Potential Founded in 1992, Olifėja is Lithuania’s longest-running lottery operator, offering instant games and major draw-based games such as Teleloto, Vikinglotto, Eurojackpot, Kenoloto and Jėga. But until 2010, the instant product category was a persistent underperformer. The games were supplied by a local printer with limited lottery expertise, and little effort was made to optimize the portfolio. As a result, sales lagged, and the scratchcards failed to fulfill their potential. A Turning Point: Partnership with Scientific Games The tide began to turn in 2011, when Olifėja entered a retail point-of-sale partnership with Scientific Games. Together, their teams applied research-based portfolio management and global best practices to the Lithuanian market. New price points were introduced, Olifėja’s instant game portfolio was expanded, and product innovation was guided by consumer research. In 2022, a major optimization initiative further refined the portfolio based on detailed player insights. It wasn’t all smooth sailing. The 2015 transition from the Lithuanian litas to the euro presented operational hurdles, while the global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the market in ways no one could have anticipated. Yet the strategy proved resilient, ensuring steady growth through uncertain times. Innovation Driven by Product Changes A significant part of Olifėja’s success has been driven by its innovative approaches, such as selling instant games directly through retail checkout counters. The process is as simple as purchasing milk or bread: while the cashier scans their groceries, customers can choose their preferred game from a display stand at the counter. Working with Scientific Games to improve product quality, Olifėja has expanded the range of games available at partner checkouts from 10 to 25 different options. Yet innovation did not stop there. In 2024, the company introduced a unique solution whereby instant game tickets are activated only upon payment at the register. This enhancement has made both selling and purchasing the games even more secure, boosted sales by nearly 10%, and earned strong approval from retail partners. Importantly, it also unlocked the ability to sell instant games through self-checkout terminals. Results: A Decade of Sustainable Growth “Our 15-year cooperation with Scientific Games has been marked by trust, reliability and strong results. Thanks to our close collaboration, they have played a key role in delivering innovative and high-quality products which offer entertainment and value to our players in Lithuania,” said Antanas Muraška, CEO of Olifėja. The results speak for themselves. Since 2011, the instant category has experienced continuous growth, transforming from the lottery’s weakest link to its most important growth engine. BIG LESSONS FROM A SMALLER LOTTERY MARKET: LITHUANIA’S GROWTH STORY

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