24 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2026 The lottery industry has crossed an invisible but decisive threshold. Even in the U.S., iLottery is no longer an experiment, a pilot, or a speculative future-state. It is infrastructure. That was the clear, and data-backed, message from the iLottery 2.0 panel, moderated by Khalid Jones, Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery, and featuring senior executives from across the lottery ecosystem. The discussion deliberately moved beyond early product lifecycle discussions of the past and toward a more mature examination of what comes next: scale, integration, collaboration, and long-term relevance. “iLottery isn’t new anymore,” Jones told the audience early in the session. “We all know what iLottery is, and why it has become such a vital part of our portfolio. The question now is how we evolve it, how we evolve our business models, our strategies and methods, and ourselves.” To ground the conversation, Jones began with a historical and demographic comparison. In year 2000, Powerball states represented a combined population of roughly 39 million. By 2006, Powerball participation surpassed 100 million. “Today,” Jones noted, “states that offer either eInstants, draw-only online sales, or are moving toward iLottery represent about 100 million people. On a population basis, iLottery today is where Powerball was in 2006.” In other words, iLottery today occupies a formidable space in the lottery, and even in the broader games-of-chance market-place. With that framing, Jones posed the central question of the panel: Can lotteries of the future survive without a digital offering? Thinking of Digital not as a Channel, but as the essential Consumer Interface Shannon DeHaven, Vice President of Digital Engagement at Pollard Banknote, offered a concise answer. “When we talk about digital, we’re not just talking about iLottery,” DeHaven said. “We’re talking about how consumers interact with your products. So, no. I do not think that lotteries can survive, and will not thrive, if they don’t build out their digital UX, consumer-facing presence, and offerings.” Several panelists emphasized that the notion of “digital” should not be reduced to online sales. Tina Wolf, Vice President of Business Development at Aristocrat Interactive, stressed that digital engagement now defines the brand experience itself. “It’s not just about selling online,” Wolf said. “It’s about how players engage with your brand. In the long term, and probably sooner than later, we’ll see product lifecycle curves start to tail off if we don’t adapt.” Andrea Williams, Vice President of Marketing at Intralot Inc., reinforced that perspective by pointing to familiar consumer behavior. “Think about Starbucks,” Williams said. “The app isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s part of the experience. Digital is no longer optional, even for products that are fundamentally physical. That same mindset applies to lottery. The digital experience has to be thoughtfully integrated into the overall player journey.” Jason Lisiecki, Executive Vice President Global at IWG, added that even lotteries not yet selling online should begin building digital foundations. “Even if you don’t offer iLottery today, having a digital platform is paramount,” Lisiecki said. “It’s where people are, and it’s what enables you to build a player database. The most successful iLottery launches we’ve seen — anywhere in the world — are built on databases developed over years.” From Patchwork Adoption to National Momentum Jones next asked panelists to identify the single most important takeaway for lotteries thinking about iLottery today. Stephanie Weyant, Deputy Executive Director of Marketing & Products for the Pennsylvania Lottery, pointed to geography — and opportunity. “When you look at the map, most iLottery adoption is concentrated on the East PANEL DISCUSSION This Article is based on a panel discussion held at PGRI Lottery Expo Nashville on November 6 Left to right: Khalid Jones Shannon DeHaven, Tina Wolf, Andrea Williams, Jason Lisiecki, Stephanie Weyant iLottery 2.0 (Part 1): From Experiment to Infrastructure
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTg4MTM=