Sports betting continues to rise in popularity around the world and shows no signs of stopping. In 2022, the global sports betting market accounted for USD 81.7 billion and is expected to expand at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 11.1% from 2023 to 2032. This is good news for lotteries, as a study published in December 2023 found that jurisdictions that have legalized sports betting in the U.S. have seen a positive correlation between sports betting revenues and lottery revenues.1
Looking to the future, lotteries’ ability to leverage sports betting will be one instrumental growth driver, and the key to success in this venture is ensuring that lotteries have the right partner to help maximize their sports betting success.
From Rhode Island to Mexico, IGT PlaySports has a trusted history of serving prominent lotteries across North America. Partners choose PlaySports for its winning combination of systems and expertise, which helps government-run lotteries fulfill their mission of returning the maximum possible revenue for good causes. From state lotteries to larger national operations, IGT PlaySports operates with the scale and responsibility needed to achieve success.
Driven by decades of experience in the industry, IGT understands the unique needs of a lottery and its operational challenges. PlaySports’ partnership-first approach helps educate lotteries and their players about the sports betting market, walks customers through the launch process from start to finish, and supports them as a trusted partner throughout day-to-day sportsbook management.
Reliable PlaySports Platform
IGT’s PlaySports Platform is the most dependable sports betting technology on the market, promising over 99% platform uptime. It features built-in responsible gaming (RG) capabilities, including self-exclusion, time and spend limits, and dedicated RG messaging, which help operators provide a fun and safe player experience. IGT is also proud to be the first sports betting supplier in the U.S. to receive the prestigious Global Gambling Guidance Group (G4) Responsible Gaming accreditation. A healthy and responsible player base is a sustainable player base, and the company is committed to supporting positive play and Advancing Responsibility, one of the key pillars of IGT’s Sustainability Plan.
Not only is PlaySports’ technology the most responsible and reliable on the market, it also offers a versatile solution that allows the PlaySports team to tailor the experience for a lottery’s players and their preferences. The most popular product is the PlaySports mobile app, which provides endless branding opportunities and extensive integrations to create a seamless user experience.
Lottery customer projects
PlaySports’ work with the Rhode Island Lottery is a perfect example of the collaborative effort to provide tailored solutions, specific to each customer. In 2023, IGT partnered with the Rhode Island Lottery to create a seamless, fully branded sports betting app that helped the Lottery meet player demands for convenience and accessibility. The partnership validated which competitive offerings and rewards were the most important to the state’s players, and IGT PlaySports implemented new functionalities, such as Same Game Parlays, Odds Boosts, and various promotion types to help engage and reward the Lottery’s player base. The launch of the new app resulted in a 4.4% increase in active users, comparing the following 3-month period year over year.
In Mexico, IGT has partnered with the Lotería Nacional to provide its PlaySports Platform, as well as trading support to help manage the Lottery’s day-to-day operations. IGT’s trading support allows customers to focus on what they do best – running their lottery business – while IGT’s dedicated team supports the sports betting operation. IGT removes the guesswork by helping lotteries set their risk tolerance and business strategy up front, and by maintaining daily operations through the company’s highly collaborative trading team.
Partnership and collaboration are fundamental to success in the lottery industry, and no one understands this better than IGT:
“Partnering with IGT PlaySports has been key to our success in the Mexican sports betting market,” says José Roberto García Avila, Director of Sports Betting Brands for the Lotería Nacional. “One of the reasons we chose to partner with IGT PlaySports is due to the reliability of their platform and ability to handle the scale in which we do business. Trust is paramount in our business, and in IGT, we have found a partner whose stellar reputation precedes them in the gaming and lottery sector. Their track record speaks volumes, and it's this trust that cements our collaboration as a cornerstone of our success.”
Partnering with IGT PlaySports
With a combination of superior technology solutions and reliable sports betting expertise, IGT is trusted by the best and biggest lotteries in the world. In addition to its lottery customers, IGT’s solutions are the premier turnkey choice for top-performing B2C sportsbook brands, such as FanDuel and Resorts World.
To learn more about how IGT PlaySports can help maximize revenue and achieve success for your lottery, please visit IGT.com/PlaySports.
1 Can, Ege and Nichols, Mark W. and Pavlopoulos, Vasileios, The Effects of Sports Betting on Casino Gambling and Lottery (December 9, 2023). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4659440