Invested in iLottery

Pollard Banknote has earned a reputation as a recognized innovator with a future-forward vision, and the company’s digital journey has been no exception. Starting in 2009 with its pioneering Space Between™ game portfolio, which has proven exceptionally successful in engaging players online, Pollard Banknote has consistently innovated in the digital space. Today, building on that momentum, Pollard Banknote delivers an ever-evolving range of digital solutions to global lotteries.

Pollard Banknote’s Co-CEO, Doug Pollard, routinely sounds a familiar refrain, which is to “never fall out of love with our core business.” This motto has been the driving force behind the company’s commitment to developing the most advanced and imaginative solutions in the industry, with a focus on outstanding games, retail excellence, and digital innovation. Understanding that each lottery is on its own unique digital journey that ranges from early stages of engaging with players online to mature iLottery programs, Pollard Banknote is well-positioned to provide lotteries with support wherever they are on that digital path.

In addition to best-in-breed digital games, mobile apps, websites, and loyalty programs, Pollard Banknote recently introduced the Pollard Digital Games Studio and its own full-scale omnichannel iLottery platform. The technology has been developed by a team that brings together top digital-focused minds from both North America and Europe and is backed by upwards of 600 skilled specialists.  

eInstants’ Instant Success  

Launched in 2022, the Pollard Digital Games Studio leverages Pollard Banknote’s decades of experience and knowledge creating outstanding instant games to bring an array of exciting eInstant offerings to market. Research done by Statista indicates that the average three-month user retention rate of mobile apps worldwide stands at a mere 29%. This means that compelling game content and well-designed user experiences are essential in keeping eInstant games exciting and players engaged across multiple channels. Pollard Banknote’s eInstant portfolio delivers just that.

Recognizing that every jurisdiction is unique, the goal of the Pollard Digital Games Studio is to provide the optimal mix of entertaining games that engage the broadest-possible player base. By collecting and analyzing market insights, it’s possible to determine what resonates best with players, and this knowledge is applied to create dynamic and engaging games. Ultimately, these games help lotteries diversify their digital portfolios in ways that exceed player expectations, providing satisfying and relevant content that drives incremental revenue for good causes.

Games created by the Pollard Digital Games Studio are enjoyed by players around the world. For example, one European lottery experienced a seven-fold increase in sales when these games launched, and in another European jurisdiction, weekly year-over-year sales doubled. Universally appealing titles like VIP Riches and Corgi Cash Dash helped contribute to these impressive sales results.

Taking a cue from traditional instant tickets, Pollard Banknote’s eInstant games mirror a variety of themes, features, and characteristics proven to motivate lottery players, including instant reveals, bonus rounds, and fast-paced play styles. However, they also take full advantage of additional features the digital medium offers to engage players, such as sound effects, music, exciting animations, and even fun ways to play bonus rounds within the game.  

This ever-expanding eInstant game portfolio is strongly rooted in providing entertainment value specifically tailored to meet lottery players’ needs. It provides high-quality experiences and endless omnichannel play that reaches myriad player demographics. Licensed products provide great opportunities for omnichannel games, including Pollard Banknote’s highly successful arcade classics collection of games, with proven bestsellers like Frogger and PAC-MAN™ leading this charge.  

Pollard Banknote’s New iLottery Solution

As lotteries look to the future, they must be responsive to evolving player expectations and a changing gaming landscape that demands modern, modular technology solutions leveraging cloud-native technology to remain competitive. Sports betting and iGaming operators are gaining market share based on the sophistication and flexibility of their technology and how it can help create better user experiences. When lotteries are choosing an iLottery partner, they must consider that they are committing to them for a decade or more. Opting for an outdated, legacy-based solution could significantly compromise their competitive position for years to come.  

Through its joint venture, NeoPollard Interactive, Pollard Banknote gained invaluable knowledge and insight through powering the most profitable iLottery programs in the U.S. This experience helped set the stage for the introduction of the company’s own proprietary Pollard iLottery Solution. By transforming an already capable and modern iLottery solution, first developed by Betware and then Next Generation Lotteries (NGL), the goal of providing lotteries with the most advanced solution available today has been realized. Pollard Banknote’s solution embraces a truly API-first approach and an entirely modular architecture, including cloud-native infrastructure and software that leverages independent microservices. This allows customers to benefit from a significantly more agile software delivery model, as well as the customization and upgrades to technology driving individual functions and services without impacting the performance, security, or reliability of our overall platform.  

Pollard Banknote's solution embraces a truly API-first approach and an entirely modular architecture, including cloud.native infrastructure and software that leverages independent microservices. This allows customers to benefit from a significantly more agile software delivery model, as well as the customization and upgrades to technology driving individual functions and services without impacting the performance, security, or reliability of our overall platform.

Beyond superior technology, iLottery program optimization requires world-class talent and experience to be successful. The team of qualified professionals at Pollard Banknote offer unrivaled expertise across the entire iLottery spectrum—games, technology, operations, marketing, analytics, responsible gaming, and customer service—ensuring success as lotteries work to modernize their gaming systems in response to evolving market and lottery conditions that support continued growth.  

As one of the world’s fastest-growing lottery partners, with widely acknowledged excellence in digital innovation, Pollard Banknote understands that iLottery is one of the most valuable and proven tools to introduce new players into the lottery ecosystem, which in turn helps lotteries boost incremental revenue. iLottery accomplishes these goals by harnessing a wealth of data on player behavior that can be used to drive engagement in a socially responsible manner. Pollard Banknote’s omnichannel approach provides the highly valuable and much sought-after 360-degree view of the player base.

Welcome to the Future

With nearly 40 years of industry know-how, Pollard Banknote’s journey to deliver outstanding games has entered a new era with advanced digital offerings designed to enhance every step of a lottery’s digital journey. Whether it’s through the Pollard iLottery Solution or through eInstants courtesy of the Pollard Digital Games Studio—or via the company’s many other innovative digital- or print-focused products—Pollard Banknote is proudly forging a path into the future built on a foundation of player- and lottery-focused innovation.