IGT Editorial: A Conversation with Marco Tasso

Attendees at the World Lottery Summit in Paris last October got a detailed look at AI’s potential to transform the lottery value chain, presented by Marco Tasso, IGT Chief Operating Officer of Italian and International Lottery Operations. The discussion delved into the positive potential impacts of AI on everything from lottery game development to hyper-personalized marketing to players. 

Here, Tasso discusses recent IGT technology and product innovation to support international lotteries, which is the focus of his current role, ensuring that the company’s resources, products, and services serve the diverse needs of lottery customers around the world.

Marco Tasso: We’re in constant communication with our customers, and these interactions and close working partnerships directly inform how we drive ongoing improvements or shape new products and solutions to serve their needs. Then, there’s what we learn and can contribute from our own experience as a lottery operator. IGT is unique in this respect: We run successful lotteries in diverse regions, and we can leverage the wealth of experience we’ve built as both an operator and a global partner. This perspective equips us with a firsthand appreciation of the challenges lotteries face as well as the opportunities. We’re able to offer insights, practical solutions, and a wide range of products that support the evolving needs of the lottery business. 

Our understanding of lotteries’ needs in international markets is also driven by the extensive program of research carried out by IGT’s Global Marketing Insights team. Over the past year alone, our research teams conducted 426 studies across more than 1,200 markets worldwide. Some of this research directly informs our product roadmaps, ensuring that our innovations are aligned with market needs and trends. We have a long-established practice of sharing research findings with customers and the broader industry, along with ideas that are immediately actionable for lotteries. In 2024, for example, we fielded a major study across seven countries to examine the behaviors and preferences of multi-channel players, as well as the drivers of player loyalty. IGT published the findings in two Special Reports that are available for download. Lotteries can partner with us to leverage the insights and shape stronger business plans for their individual market. 

Two common focus areas stand out—innovation and digitalization. Every lottery is looking for innovation. Every lottery is interested in harnessing technology to continuously improve in order to increase contributions to good causes. And of course, when we speak of digitalization, we don’t just mean selling lottery products online or via mobile. IGT has prioritized and invested heavily in developing flexible digital solutions that enable lotteries to evolve the entire retail player journey, knowing that digitalization can also help lotteries reduce their environmental impact. Consider digital play slips, for example, which not only offer convenience for players and operational efficiencies for lotteries but also eliminate paper-related logistics. Or mobile claims, which help reduce carbon emissions by minimizing the need for travel to collect a prize. 

This relates to another vital and common focus for lotteries: sustainability. In Italy, for example, we’ve conducted a comprehensive analysis of the entire lottery player journey—far beyond the more familiar aspects, such as how play slips and Lotto tickets are printed or what type of material they’re printed on. By digging deeper, we’ve identified opportunities to minimize the environmental footprint at every touchpoint.

We’ve made flexibility and state-of-the-art technology the cornerstones of our product strategy. You see these qualities throughout our offerings. To give just one example: Retailers commonly have space constraints, and that’s why we have introduced innovative terminals and self-service options with smaller footprints. It’s why we have launched products that perform across a variety of different retail environments, such as our new, award-winning IGT Lottery Link™ solution. This is a small device that immediately enables retailers to sell lottery in-lane on their own point-of-sale system. There’s no need for software modifications. Retailers simply plug it in and start selling lottery products the same way they sell other consumer goods. It’s an ideal solution for retail locations around the world with limited counter space. State-of-the-art solutions like this give lotteries more flexibility in deployment.

Similarly, our focus on modularity and cloud-based solutions allows for dynamic scalability of the lottery infrastructure and rapid upgrades to meet the evolving needs of lotteries around the world. 

And at the heart of our strategy is a commitment to the responsible use of AI to empower operators with smarter tools to optimize operations, engage players more effectively, stay competitive, and drive measurable business results.

We are integrating generative AI (GenAI) into both our processes and our products, actively exploring its use across the lottery value chain: from optimizing back-end operations such as software coding and data analysis to enhancing customer-facing experiences with advanced chatbots and personalized user interactions. Some of the areas where we are currently innovating with AI include: 

• New Game Development: Using GenAI to design innovative eInstant lottery games with creative mechanics and engaging visuals to attract diverse audiences.
• Customer Support Enhancements: Deploying AI-driven virtual assistants to provide natural, human-like interactions for retailer and player customer service.
• Predictive Ordering for Instant Games: To ensure the right games are at the right retailers in sufficient quantities to avoid out-of-stocks.
• Fraud Detection and Responsible Gaming: Applying GenAI to identify suspicious activities, promote responsible gaming practices, and offer tailored support for players.
• Marketing and Advertising: Automating marketing calendars, generating personalized campaigns, and optimizing content for greater player engagement (see example). 

The Italian market is a showcase for IGT innovation, one where we’ve implemented a host of new strategies and technologies to drive growth by enhancing player engagement and optimizing product offerings. 

For example, we employ a sophisticated, research-driven approach to continuously innovate our instant ticket offerings—testing designs, ranking them, and launching iterations to ensure that each product resonates with players and delivers measurable sales performance. We’re also using advanced technologies such as IGT’s Infinity Instants™ printing platform to revolutionize traditional instant games and offer new gameplay mechanics that enhance player excitement. 

Creative retail display strategies − such as instant-ticket waterfall displays that transform entire walls into visually engaging showcases − have significantly improved visibility and communication at points of sale, driving measurable increases in sales and player awareness. And, to further support retailers and players, we’ve developed comprehensive training resources, engaging point-of-sale materials, and impactful digital campaigns. 

In launching the new Infinity Instants™ POP game, for example, a new type of sliding poster was developed to demonstrate this unique game to players at retail (see image), along with in-store videos and omnichannel communications through the My Lotteries app. Innovations like these have helped to ensure seamless rollouts and enhanced visibility, even in a market with strict advertising regulations. 

And, despite global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve maintained steady growth in draw games. Over the past 10 years, we’ve increased draw game sales by more than €1.5 billion – not only by introducing new games, but by innovating with the existing games, introducing new features, and offering new ways to play. It’s a continuous effort of working on the games and not taking them or the players for granted.

On the digital front, the My Lotteries app developed by IGT Italy has redefined player interaction. The app currently engages over 700,000 unique users monthly and serves as a robust platform for education, communication, and interaction. Players can access customized content, receive instant updates, and seamlessly engage with lottery, fostering greater retention and satisfaction.

As these examples demonstrate, we don’t view innovation as a one-time effort—it’s a continuous process of evolving all aspects of the business to meet and exceed the expectations of players and customers. Operating in and serving customers in international markets, which often lead or drive lottery innovation, is one of the important ways we can share learnings and help drive evolution across the industry.

He has held various roles within IGT and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain and Services. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Global Lottery Marketing, focused on innovation, strategy, product development, and retail execution. Prior to that role, Marco served as CEO of Northstar Lottery Group, where he managed the first-ever private lottery management contract for the Illinois Lottery. He later oversaw similar private manager agreements in Indiana and New Jersey. 

For six years prior to joining Northstar, he was Vice President of Lottery and Services for Italy’s Lottomatica Group, where he was responsible for the Scratch and Win brand, the fastest-growing segment in the Italian gaming market. During this period, he also led the brand transformation of the 500-year-old Lotto product by introducing the 10E Lotto, an innovation that resulted in 40% growth in draw-based game sales. 

Marco holds a doctoral degree in mathematics and previously worked for Bain and Co. and Ernst & Young Consultants, working with customers ranging from Fiat and Telecom Italia to Bridgepoint Capital.