MAGAZINE OF THE EUROPEAN LOTTERIES, 2011, SEPTEMBER ...

GAMBLING TECHNOLOGIES: FUTURE & CHALLENGES
ONLINE BINGO –
A PORTAL FOR GROWTH
Since the mid-1990s, we have all witnessed
the dramatic impact the Internet
has had on culture and commerce,
including enabling a new
point of access for lottery players.
The key to leveraging the growth potential
of Internet gaming is to create
an entertaining experience that
attracts and retains players, thereby
lowering the cost of acquisition and
increasing the lifetime value of a player.
As Lotteries face ever-rising expectations
from sophisticated online players
and confront competition from
well-funded commercial operators,
they are working harder than ever to
sustain Internet sales growth. To expand
the player base and give players
reasons to keep playing, Lotteries
must look to increase their online
portfolio of games, with offerings that
entertain players.
DOES YOUR INTERNET CHAN-
NEL INCLUDE BINGO?
Bingo is one of the fastest-growing
segments of the online gaming arena.
Since 2004, the online bingo market
has exploded, growing from an industry
worth u 226 million to nearly u1.4
billion worldwide [*Source: GBGC
2011]. Bingo rooms offer players excitement
through jackpots, guaranteed
prizes, and side games and by
creating a community of players that
is largely female.
Having an online Bingo offering is a
logical extension of any Lottery’s Internet
offering. Today, 90% of bingo
players in the UK market play Lotto
as well. The player base demographic
is comprised of 80% women between
the ages of 30 to 50 with the remaining
20% male base being in the same
age range.
Time on a bingo site is time spent
communicating with other players in
chat rooms moderated by Chat Masters,
sharing demographic information,
and playing side games like eInstants.
This is an entirely different win
experience for players and a lucrative
second revenue stream from the interactive
channel for Lotteries.
To find an example of the powerful
impact of bingo on a Lottery’s Inter-
net portfolio, we need only to look as
far as Finland. Having analyzed the
success of bingo in places like the
UK, Veikkaus saw the potential for
tremendous growth in its Internet
portfolio. As Veikkaus undertook the
massive renovation of the Lottery’s
Internet site, it recognized that the
inclusion of eBingo would access a
missing player demographic of women
from 30-40 years of age.
A CASE STUDY: VEIKKAUS EBINGO
Since 1997, when it launched its first
Internet games, Veikkaus has developed
one of the most successful
Internet channels in the lottery industry.
With annual Internet sales of
about u 400 million in 2010, Veikkaus
operates the biggest Web shop in Finland,
measured in revenue. Initially,
the channel was fueled by sports betting,
predominantly male-oriented
game. As a result of this reliance on
sport, the Veikkaus Internet channel
player demographics became heavily
skewed toward male players.
Since 2007, draw games have been the
fastest-growing game category on the
Veikkaus website, and in 2010, for the
first time, the total Internet sales of
draw games surpassed that of sports
betting games. However, player base
imbalance persisted. To address that
imbalance, Veikkaus had looked back
to its history with eInstant games in
order to move forward.
Veikkaus had already enjoyed success
with its electronic instants or eInstants
games, which were launched
in 2005 on the website. The lesson
learned from the eInstants was that
it attracted a different player demographic
than sports betting games
with a considerable number of female
players. The other lesson learned was
that people played the game at different
times than for example sports
betting. It was not unusual to see
players buy eInstants during their
lunch breaks. Therefore, the opportunity
to capitalize on even more engaging
and entertaining games that
could be played at will was apparent
to Veikkaus.
In 2008, Veikkaus decided to make
changes to improve the female to
male player ratio. Because of the
known appeal of bingo games to
GAMBLING TECHNOLOGIES
4 NEWS 37 SEPTEMBER 2011
women players, Veikkaus selected it
as a new addition to its Internet portfolio.
There were three main driving factors
that pushed Veikkaus to go for the Internet
bingo game:
1 The disproportionate ratio of male
players to female players on the
Web channel.
2. The desire to offer games that are
more social in nature. The chat feature
of bingo supports the community
feel of the game.
3. The need to bolster its game suite
to include a greater quantity of entertaining
games to better compete
against illegal and off shore operators.
Ultimately, Veikkaus worked to offer
the Finnish public a safe and sound
state-controlled alternative to the
growing cross-border operators.
GTECH and GTECH G2 worked
closely with Veikkaus during both the
business requirements gathering and
the final game requirements gathering
phases to help equip Veikkaus to
enter the Internet bingo business.
Veikkaus realized that bingo is not a
typical “fire-and-forget” lottery game,
but a game that requires active management
for both game scheduling
as well as chat hosting. Best practices
from the commercial bingo
world were transposed to meet WLA
requirements and put into action at
Veikkaus.
In addition, GTECH G2 provided
extensive training to Veikkaus Chat
Moderators staff to ensure success in
this very important area of product
support. The Chat Moderators are the
only direct contact with players other
than a 24-hour help line. They ensure
that proper behavior is always maintained
on the site.
As the performance statistics show,
the Veikkaus eBingo program is an
unequivocal success:
• Bingo launched in September 2010
– proceeded by less than a ninemonth
implementation project –
and in conjunction with a complete
redesign of the Veikkaus Internet
site.
• On a population base of 4 million,