44 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2026 EL/WLA Marketing Seminar 2026 Content Is Queen: Crowning the Art of Storytelling in Barcelona he EL/WLA Marketing Seminar returned to Barcelona (21-23 January 2026) for the second year in a row. With a record number of participants - over 200 - lottery executives, marketing professionals and creative leaders came together to explore how storytelling can help lotteries remain relevant, trusted and emotionally connected in an evolving landscape. More than an exploration of the latest tools and trends, this year’s edition returned to the very heart of communications and marketing: content and storytelling. To kick off the Seminar, EL President Romana Girandon emphasised in her opening words that lotteries must demonstrate how they maximise benefits for society by connecting their numbers to purpose and play through compelling stories. WLA President Andreas Kötter echoed this message, emphasising that lotteries must clearly communicate their positive impact in raising funds for good causes and place customers at the heart of their stories, making their products and services part of customers’ dreams. Keynotes: From the foundations of storytelling to the importance of emotion and trust ‘’You have a great product or service, but people aren’t responding to your marketing – or your message. You’re brimming with enthusiasm, but you don’t know how to spread the word. You need a story’’. The Seminar opened with Jack Murray, CEO & Founder of MediaHQ and All Good Tales, who introduced “The Magic Slice” - the point where what you want to say meets what your audience wants to hear. In a sector where magic and creativity matters, this intersection of authenticity, meaning and audience desire is what turns a message into a story that truly resonates. In his Keynote “The Invisible Contract,” award-winning director Marco Gentile explored storytelling as a relationship of trust between brands and audiences – a trust now being tested in the age of automation and AI. Marco reminded us that capturing attention is an act of trust, and that ‘’storytelling is a moral
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