Technology has changed the way the Louisiana Lottery does business at every level.
As Business Report details in its latest Executive Spotlight feature, Louisiana Lottery President and CEO Rose Hudson recounts, among other things, how new technology drives decision-making in the organization, optimizes the business and puts the Louisiana at the forefront of an industry.
Hudson has been with the Louisiana Lottery for 16 years; she’s spent 10 of those years as president. In her position, she ushered in an era in which sweeping changes include the utilization of touch-screen interfaces that retailers use to generate tickets, as well as data-driven management.
“From a marketing perspective, the explosion of the digital space and social media has allowed us to converse directly with our players and develop deeper brand loyalty,” Hudson says.
There’s also a lottery-specific iPad application for sales representatives that allows them to analyze individual retailer sales in real time by game and time frame, and enables them to make decisions based on comparisons to other retailers in the area or per-capita averages.
“Integrating retailer data with population, economic indicators and traffic patterns, we can more quickly spot trends and opportunities for improvement,” Hudson notes.
The lottery also is exploring a mobile phone app that would allow players to scan ticket bar codes to check their winnings, receive notifications about jackpot thresholds and create saved play slips on their phones to be scanned to generate tickets.
Sophisticated algorithms and historical sales trends make it possible for lottery officials to automatically ship game price points and play styles that will sell fastest at specific locations. “This is one way we have been able to grow scratch-off sales to near startup levels, when the lottery was the only form of gaming available, as well as control operational costs,” Hudson says.
Read the full Executive Spotlight Q&A. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
What is one thing about your job people don’t expect or know about?
I encounter so many people who think all I do is give out money! We run a real business, with all of the challenges that go with it. I meet with bankers, consider contractual issues, legal issues, etc. Giving away the money is the fun part and the break that I get from the business part.
