40 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2026 game succeed at retail but not online? How can we adapt it for a digital audience that has different motivations and play styles? Which elements drive engagement without compromising responsibility? The goal is to help lotteries offer a broad portfolio of competitive products, some of which may resemble offerings from commercial gaming, while never relinquishing their unique position in the public consciousness. We think about this as a “both-and” strategy. Lotteries must be relevant to modern, digitalnative consumers and remain true to who they are. Those objectives are not mutually exclusive. The market is changing faster than the rules Q: What about the competitive landscape is shifting most for lotteries? What should lottery leaders be paying closer attention to right now? S. Gunn: The pace of change is accelerating, and some of it is coming from places the industry didn’t expect. If you asked this question a couple of years ago, the competitive set was relatively well defined; there were casinos, sports betting, online eGaming in certain states, and the broader recreation and entertainment economy. Now, predictive markets have entered the conversation. Presently, these platforms, such as Kalshi, are regulated at the federal level by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) as if they are offering financial contracts and not gambling. That, in spite of the fact that most of Kalshi’s trading volume is wagering on the outcome of sporting events, i.e. sports betting. Some states’ attorneys general are demanding the right to regulate predictive markets as gambling. We don’t know where that dispute will land. The main idea, though, is that the market is shifting in ways that fall outside of traditional regulatory structures and assumptions. For Brightstar, this means we have to constantly reassess what the market looks like in order to ensure that the actionable insights we derive about consumers and play preferences hold up against all other offerings that compete for consumer attention and spending. The competitive set is expanding, the rules are lagging, and lotteries need to be equipped to compete without compromising the integrity and brand image that make them distinctive. Q: Why do legislators abide the aggressive marketing tactics, bonus structures, and ridiculously low tax contributions associated with some sports-betting while crippling their own state lotteries with prohibitions against iLottery? S. Gunn: I’ll simply say this: the lottery sector has a great deal to be proud of and an extraordinary reputation to protect. We, as an industry, should never take for granted that our stakeholders understand who we are and what we stand for. We must tell our story—clearly, confidently, consistently, and persistently. Policymakers and the public need to appreciate what makes lotteries different; they need to understand our mission to support good causes, our dedication to player protection and transparency, and how our entire reason for being is to serve society. There is a practical strategy that has proven effective in some states. When legislators consider expanding gaming— whether through sports betting, casinos, or online eGaming—that is precisely the moment for lotteries to engage, because it is an opportunity to explain why lotteries, as state-owned enterprises, should be granted comparable flexibility to modernize through tools like iLottery, cashless payments, and enhanced digital engagement. That external competition is only part of the story. The other is how lotteries choose partners—and what procurement is really designed to measure. Instant tickets: a technology story, and a people story Q: Instant tickets remain the economic engine for most lotteries. What is Brightstar doing to push innovation— and performance—in that category? S. Gunn: We are introducing a ton of innovation, and this is an area I’m especially passionate about. Brightstar, and IGT before it, has made significant investments in our instants production capability, particularly at our facility in Lakeland, Florida. We were first to deploy advanced presses and printing technology with what is now the fastest, highest-capability equipment in the industry. We’ve raised the baseline on print quality and features, including elements that used to be treated as enhancements but are now standard in what we do. The broader direction is clear: instant tickets need to feel more contemporary and visually compelling, with graphic sophistication that increasingly mirrors what players see digitally. But here is the most important lesson from 2025: the solution isn’t always another machine. There were periods when we were not performing at the level our customers expect or the level we expect of ourselves. The way we solved it was focusing on people: recruiting the right talent, placing the right skill sets at critical points in a complex production line, and ensuring that bestin-class technology is operated at peak performance. That was the answer, and we’ve made that correction. We recognized that the results would not come overnight but are confident that these decisions will result in more consistently achieving higher standards aligned with customers’ expectations. What’s exciting now is that we have the production capability and throughput to deliver consistently—not just to serve existing customers better, but also to bring those innovations to a broader group of lotteries. Everyone sees iLottery as a growth story, which it is, but our optimism and momentum around instants is real as well. We believe our technology, our people, and our operational strength will drive our growth as a top-tier global instant service provider. Retail is evolving — and the “back office” is becoming the battleground Q: As major retailers change frontof-store operations, with more Continued on page 42 Scott Gunn - Brightstar’s Innovation Playbook — continued from page 19
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