LotteryEngine: Powering digital transformation

Burdened by public procurement processes and monolithic tech, lotteries are struggling to close the gap with private operators. Nikolina Gabelica, Head of Lottery, explains how EveryMatrix is driving the digital transformation of global lotteries with fast, modular tech.

How are the commercial and product strategies for lottery businesses around the world changing? What’s the direction of travel?

They’re changing fast. There are two different directions depending on where you look. Globally, digital still makes up just 6.4 per cent of the lottery GGR which is surprisingly low. That’s $7.9bn in comparison to $124bn in total GGR generated by WLA members according to the WLA compendium. While there is clearly momentum, most of the lotteries are still early in the digital journey in comparison to iGaming or private operators.

But if you zoom in, in the top performing markets, especially in Europe, you see what is possible. Europe alone accounts for over 42 per cent of the global digital GGR and if you combine it with Asia Pacific, that’s more than 80 per cent.

The rest of the world is following Europe and Asia Pacific. If you take a market such as Norway, Norsk Tipping’s digital GGR is already over 77 per cent and they will close all retail channels in 2027. This is a complete digital transition and we’re proud to be a partner in helping them achieve this goal.

How are the expectations of lottery players evolving?

Today’s players expect mobile-first, fast loading games, gamification and personalisation. Modern lottery players are less interested in draw-based games versus e-instant games or casino content and expect a Netflix-level UX. Players want a digitised experience that is personalised and modern. If operators don’t offer this, they’re risking losing younger audiences who simply won’t wait for lotteries to catch up and to be at the same level as private operators.

Why are lotteries increasingly choosing EveryMatrix to launch or expand their digital presence?

Speed, focus and trust. We are a pure B2B provider, so we don’t compete with our clients. Other vendors have B2C operations that could one day be competing with lottery customers for business. Our tech is fully modular, everything is based on APIs, and we are fast.

We delivered the Hungarian State Lottery a full sports betting solution in just seven months which is a record. We don’t have slow, monolithic technology that most lotteries still use. When other lotteries see this kind of success, they know we’re a proven partner.

What are the technical hurdles of integrating complex systems such as payment gateways and age verification tools?

There are systems that are never meant to talk to each other. For example, backend lottery solutions are sometimes 15-20 years old so integrating any kind of new tools – payments, KYC, responsible gaming, new content – can feel like connecting two totally different worlds. Our platform is built to bridge this gap.

Sometimes we don’t need to replace, and we can easily bridge retail with online. There is no need to start from the scratch – you just plug in and have a much faster launch without compromising any kind of security or experiencing tech issues. This is a strength of our product suite.

­How does EveryMatrix help lotteries ensure compliance with loyalty programmes, bonus tools, and promotional engines?

We are built for regulated markets. All our products are designed to be configurable, auditable, and fully compliant. We also support prize structures, age gating, promo limits, and responsible gaming controls, including full transparency for auditors and regulators. This includes BonusGuardian which monitors bonus abuse and overspending in real-time which is an area lotteries are keen to keep track of.

Only 22 per cent of European lottery members currently have online loyalty programmes, meaning 78 per cent of lotteries do not have one which is incredible. It’s a huge opportunity. We have identified this and are already filling the gap with real-time missions, segmentation and gamified journeys.

How is EveryMatrix helping lotteries to offer social and collective gaming-type experiences?

There is a general misconception that lotteries only offer lottery products but if you look across Europe as an example, lotteries offer sports betting, virtual sports, esports betting, casino content. Practically, the only difference is that lotteries are slower but not because they want to be. They have public procurement processes, RFPs, etc. It takes time. They want to switch and change everything overnight, but you cannot do it, especially if they have a legacy system that is more than two decades old.

Personalisation is no longer optional. A couple of years ago, yes, it was okay, good to have, but now it’s a must especially for every player under 40. Games are boring to them without communication and personalisation.

What’s your vision for EveryMatrix’s lottery division?

It’s very clear: to make EveryMatrix the trusted digital partner for the world’s most ambitious lotteries.

The original version of this article was published by G3 Newswire.