News writer, Interviewer
Paul Riley has watched lottery retail evolve for more than 35 years. He started at GTECH as an electrical engineer building lottery terminals. He later ran R&D for the full lottery solutions portfolio. Today, as Vice President of Retail Innovation & Partnerships at Brightstar Lottery, he leads the push to make lottery fit the store.
In this exclusive interview, Riley explains why the counter still beats the app, why lottery is harder to sell than it looks, and where physical and digital retail collide next.
Why retail is the lottery's secret sauce
Retail has a pull that screens can't match. Riley knows it firsthand. "I really like retail because it is tangible and involves human interaction," he explains. "You can learn a lot just by careful observation."
At PGRI Smart-Tech in Fort Lauderdale this spring, he called retail the lottery's "secret sauce." Why? Presence. He explained:
Retail gives the lottery something extremely difficult to recreate digitally: physical presence within consumers' everyday routines.
Players find the lottery where they already stop for groceries, fuel, coffee, and prescriptions. No separate gaming trip required.
Trust comes next. Retailers are rooted in their communities, and the store is a familiar place to buy a ticket, ask a question, or collect a prize. Then there is the human factor. A good retailer knows the customer and the product. "The human interaction of a retailer can't be beat," Riley adds, right down to "asking for the sale."
Digital matters, he concedes. But it doesn't replace the store:
Digital distribution is an important part of the future, but the retail network remains a significant differentiator because it combines reach, visibility, convenience, and local presence.
A complex product in a small space
Selling lottery looks simple. It isn't. Riley calls it an "inherently complex product," and he lays out why. "Several different products and processes have to coexist in a very small amount of retail space." Draw games, scratch tickets, multistate games, and promotions each bring their own steps, merchandising, inventory, and reconciliation. Add Lottery Vending Machines and the list grows: restocking bins, loading paper, handling cash. Associates do all of it while they serve customers and run the store.
Shoppers feel the strain too. Which game? How do you fill out a playslip? How do you check a ticket? What do you say at the counter? Riley suspects the industry overestimates what players know:
The industry sometimes assumes a level of familiarity that newer or occasional players do not have. Simplification is therefore not just an operational goal. It is also an important part of welcoming new consumers into the category.
Simplifying the sale
The industry is cutting steps. Riley points to self-service, digital playslips, better ticket checking, clearer interfaces, and smarter merchandising. But he draws a line:
The objective is not to add technology for its own sake. It is to make common transactions easier and reduce the amount of specialized knowledge required.
Retailers feel the gain in time and disruption. If shoppers can browse, prepare a wager, buy, or check a ticket without clogging the counter, the store runs the lottery more efficiently. Riley notes:
When the experience is simpler, associates are more comfortable supporting it, and consumers are more confident participating.
Two trends stand out. Lottery Vending Machines match shoppers' taste for self-service and ease the load on retailers. And in-lane, which sells and redeems lottery products at the retailer's point of sale, "makes for a simpler selling proposition and an improved customer experience."
Making lottery a priority, not a burden
Lottery is one product among thousands. How does Brightstar earn shelf space and staff attention? It starts with humility. "Retailers do not operate stores for the sole purpose of selling lottery," Riley stresses. Brightstar's job is to deliver "dependable technology, straightforward processes, practical and recurring training, strong field support, and solutions that fit the store's workflow."
The company must also prove the lottery pays off beyond one sale. It draws shoppers in, drives repeat visits, and complements other purchases. Yet Riley cautions that those benefits only count if the program runs well:
The best lottery solution is one that works reliably, requires minimal intervention, and feels like a natural part of the retailer's business rather than a separate operational burden.
Retailer Wizard, a lottery portal, puts data and analytics straight into retailers' hands so they can tune sales and operations.
Fishing where the fish are
When he thinks about growth, Riley eyes pharmacies, dollar stores, and home improvement chains. His shorthand: "fishing where the fish are." Shoppers visit these stores for practical, recurring needs. The discount category, in particular, has "experienced tremendous growth in store proliferation and consumer visits."
These chains bring established networks and recognizable brands. They may also reach people whose routines skip the traditional lottery retailer.
"The opportunity is not to duplicate the convenience-store model in every channel," Riley warns. A pharmacy, a dollar store, and a home improvement retailer each serve a different shopping mission. Time in store, checkout design, and operating model all shape the offer. "The common principle is convenience, but the execution needs to be tailored."
Building a program from scratch
What does it take to launch a lottery with a retailer that has never sold it? Listening, first. Brightstar studies store operations, labor model, checkout design, customer journey, technology, security needs, and how the retailer measures success. Riley states:
We should not begin with the assumption that an existing lottery model can simply be placed into a new trade style.
Design then follows two goals: simplicity and scale. That could mean self-service, centralized oversight, limited assortments, or different approaches to training and replenishment. A pilot lets both sides test before they expand. The target is a program that "feels native to that retail environment, not one that has been added as an afterthought."
Education matters too. Newcomers need to see "the value that Lottery can bring to their consumers and their bottom line."
The exclusive product question
Last year, a Costco in Canada drew controversy for selling scratch-offs and seasonal promotional packages. Are exclusive products for big box retailers a smart play? Riley sees upside:
Exclusive products can be an effective way to create excitement and give a retailer a reason to actively promote the category.
He sets conditions. Any exclusive must preserve consumer clarity, responsible-play principles, regulatory requirements, and confidence across the retail network. The test, he argues, is "whether the concept grows the overall category." Does it reach new consumers? Create a new purchase occasion?
Exclusivity "should complement the wider retailer base rather than simply shifting existing sales from one channel to another," Riley adds. He also points out that national chains are "extremely skilled at marketing and promotional programs." Lotteries should look for joint programs that benefit shoppers and players alike. Many already do.
From retailers to e-tailers
Riley has said retailers are becoming "e-tailers." This is what it means for the industry: "Retailers increasingly operate as both physical and digital businesses," he explains. Some national chains that sell lottery tickets already run full e-commerce operations. They've told Brightstar they want to add iLottery sales through those channels and their existing customer base.
Picture the shopper's path. Discover a product online, choose in an app, pay in store, pick up curbside. For the lottery, Riley observes, "the retail experience no longer needs to begin and end at the counter." A player might learn about a game digitally, build a playslip on a phone, finish the purchase through an authorized channel, and use the store for extra services.
He expects the line between physical and digital to blur further. The goal stays fixed: "a simple, secure, and responsible experience while supporting the lottery's public-purpose mission."
Why the work still excites him
Change keeps Riley going after 35 years in the industry. "Retail never stops changing," he says. Expectations, technology, store formats, payment methods, and shopping behaviors keep shifting. That "creates a steady stream of new problems to solve and new opportunities to make the lottery experience better."
Partnerships fuel him, too:
Progress in this industry happens when lotteries, retailers, and technology providers work together and are willing to challenge long-standing assumptions.
And he still loves to walk through a store. He watches how people shop and how retailers run their operations. Then he asks the question that drives his work:
How can we make the experience simpler for the consumer and more valuable for the retailer?
