The PGRI Smart-Tech, Florida 2025, event co-hosted by Florida Lottery took place from 4-6 March, with a packed agenda and participation from international industry experts.
Among the keynote speakers, Andreas Kötter presented the topic of Lotteries in an evolving landscape – Lessons to share.
Online lottery markets are growing
He noted that though the US market has 38 States plus DC offering legal sports betting, the WLA North America region members – Canada, The Caribbean and the US – as a whole, have comparatively few sports betting offers. Of these members, the US has the least diverse in terms of offerings, which include traditional games, sports betting and other games.
Regarding the different developments in the lottery industry worldwide, there is currently a lot of movement in many national lottery markets. Overall, there has been a significant increase in market concentration (investments/acquisitions) in recent years.
As for lotteries, there is a significant trend towards digitization. He highlighted that in Europe in particular, the growth trend is towards online offerings, with seven countries reporting that their share of online draw-based games has already exceeded 50 per cent by 2023, according to data from European Lotteries.
In the context of the digitization of lotteries, commercial gaming brokers already play an important role in some markets as pure online providers. The increasing convergence of different forms of gaming / verticals (e.g. lotteries and iGaming) is already a reality in the product portfolios of these operators. Kötter highlighted the importance of the WLA Responsible Gaming and Security Control Standards, both of which enable WLA members anywhere in the world, to adhere to industry best practices and ensure their customers have safe and responsible player experiences, and that work was underway for the World Lottery Summit 2026, in Sydney, Australia.
Innovative tech, user experience and the digital journey
Many topics were covered from both operator and player perspectives. For instance, the use of innovative technologies, the intersection of sports and the lotteries, re-engaging players in the in-store experience, and the digital lottery and the player journey. Other areas included innovation through interoperability, integration, and collaboration, diversification strategies for eInstants growth, and the Women’s Initiative in Lottery Leadership (WiLL).
Representatives from lotteries, lottery suppliers, lottery Regional Associations, and multi-jurisdictional games, delved into the topics which affect the global regulated lottery and sports betting industry, shared their experiences and provided the audience with important insights.
About the event
The three-day PGRI event was sponsored by: Double-Platinum Sponsors: IGT, Intralot, Pollard Banknote, Scientific Games; Platinum Sponsors: Abacus Lottery Everywhere, Allwyn, Aristocrat Interactive, EQL Games, Jackpocket, Inspired Entertainment, Instant Win Gaming (IWG), Zeal Network; and Gold Sponsors: Alchemy3, Atlas Experiences, Carmanah Signs, Gambyt, GLI Gaming Labs, SCA.
