News writer
New leadership leads to digital media award and expansiveness.
With the encouraging name Allwyn, in January 2023, after making an expansive move and acquiring Camelot, a U.K.-based lottery management company, the Swiss-based lottery management company made its foray into the North American lottery market.
Allwyn at the helm
Alluding to their plans for future growth, in a publicly released statement, Robert Chvátal, CEO of the Allwyn Group CEO, explained the significance of the company’s recent investment stating, “Our entry into the North American market builds upon Allwyn’s strong track record of successfully operating lotteries across Europe, delivering value to our customers, focusing on player protection, and growing lottery returns to communities.”
In conjunction with taking ownership of Camelot’s operations, Allwyn also inherited chief operational duties for the State of Illinois’ official Lottery.
Of its newly appointed managerial duties and in recognition of its new North American presence, in a March 2023 press release, Allwyn’s Chief Executive Wayne Pickup stated, “Working in accord with U.S. Lottery practices, our aim is to drive responsible and sustainable growth, which, in turn, will serve to maximize the amount of revenue generated for the State of Illinois.”
Illinois Lottery’s devoted following
Despite Allwyn’s history of successful endeavors across the globe, considering the Midwest state’s impressive portfolio of both physical scratch-off tickets and online games, they may have initially been surprised to discover the massiveness of the challenge with which they were to be faced.
This is because Illinoisans place a high premium on their lottery play. In other words, in Illinois, gaming is more than just a pastime… it’s a serious albeit entertaining business.
Referencing statistics that back up such a bold claim, in Illinois, more than 67% of residents in the state play the lottery. Perhaps even more telling is the fact that Illinois ranks number one in the nation for online ticket sales, processing more than 1.6 million tickets per week.
Illinois Lottery digital media award recipient
As evidence of their abilities to harness the power of digital media to grow lotteries, Allwyn has helped to redesign and reshape Illinois’ interactive forum, in November 2023, Illinois won the prestigious North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries’ (NASPL) award* for the Best Digital Media Coordinated Campaign for their iLottery campaign, ‘Get It’ on the Illinois Lottery app.
*Each year, the NASPL Awards honor the most creative, innovative, and inspiring work produced across the North American lottery industry.
The ‘Get it’ campaign made its debut by featuring the up-and-coming Illinois rap musical artist, Drew the Kiiid and, on account of his ability to mobilize fans, they teamed up with iHeart Media’s local Illinois radio station, WGCI, to encourage players’ usage of the Lottery’s updated application platform.
Characterized by Advertising Age, the ‘Get it’ campaign worked because it showcased Illinois’ Lottery App as a ‘forward-thinking,’ dynamic product. The media publication expounded, “In an effort to instill interest among a new generation of users, the song and visuals elevate what the lottery calls ‘B-D-E-Big Download Energy.’”
Illinois & Allwyn = big win
Of the win, in crediting their alliances with the marketing team at Allwyn North America, and their creative agency of record, Dentsu Creative, Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays conjointly with Marketing Director Marisa Zimmerman issued this statement, “The Illinois Lottery champions the idea that Illinois is ‘Full of Winners’ and we are proud to be able to create a winning experience for Drew the Kiiid and a platform for him to share his music. The energy and enthusiasm of his music is the perfect soundtrack to promote the excitement of the Illinois Lottery app.”
In light of the continuity and care, Allwyn stated they would provide upon assuming the role as managing operator of the Illinois State Lottery, Allwyn—by infusing new online life into Illinois Lottery’s infrastructure—seems to have more than surpassed its originally stated promises.
Hence, it would seem as if half-way measures are definitely not a part of Allwyn’s operational style.
For apparently, if they are in — they’re All In. And, in Illinois, that type of bravado has lent itself to an updated digital platform that, on account of its youthful vibe and relatability, has both garnered awards and attracted new users and players.
