The Long Game: Brightstar Sustainability
With the transition from IGT Lottery to Brightstar Lottery, the company has unveiled a new sustainability strategy to mark the next chapter in its longstanding commitment to building a sustainable future.
“This past year has been transformative for our company. We’ve embraced a new name, a refreshed brand identity, and a sharpened focus on our core lottery business,” says Wendy Montgomery, Brightstar Senior Vice President, Branding, Communications, and Sustainability. “We’re committed to advancing the lottery industry through insight-driven, future-ready solutions that bolster our customers, inspire their players, and support a more sustainable future. With this in mind, we have evolved our sustainability strategy to ensure that it grows with us.”
“The sustainability team has been deeply engaged in reexamining our strategy since announcing our transition to a pure play lottery company,” notes Stefania Colombo, Brightstar Senior Director, Global Sustainability. Through its predecessor companies, Brightstar was among the earliest in the industry to issue a formal report detailing its sustainability achievements, a practice it has continued for the past 18 years. With nearly two decades of experience and a strong framework to build upon, “the timing was right to take stock,” says Colombo. “How could we, as Brightstar, evolve our sustainability strategy, improve it, and make it truly reflective of our new brand, company, and story?''
The process resulted in a refreshed strategy that places stakeholders at the forefront and reinforces Brightstar’s pledge to environmental responsibility. The new sustainability strategy also serves as the foundation for the company’s latest Sustainability Report, released on November 19 and available at BrightstarLottery.com/SustainabilityReport.
The company’s refreshed sustainability strategy is anchored by three guiding elements: Empowering Our People, Collaborating with Partners, and Preserving the Planet.
These elements ensure that stakeholders remain at the heart of every Brightstar initiative:
- Empowering Our People: Fostering a culture that values individuals, recognizes the unique contributions and perspectives of every person, and works to attract and retain the talent of tomorrow.
- Collaborating with Partners: Building strong, ethical, and transparent relationships — from suppliers and business partners to local communities — to grow together responsibly.
- Preserving the Planet: Taking meaningful action to protect the climate and conserve natural resources for future generations.
“In establishing the new elements, we wanted to recognize the fluidity of our sustainability initiatives, which can transcend and influence more than one element,” explains Colombo. “For example, a global initiative like our longstanding After School Advantage program is brought to life through engagement with our employees to assemble and launch digital labs, support for our partner communities through sustainable skill development, and choosing equipment that is more environmentally friendly.”
The newly defined elements, with Brightstar’s stakeholders at the forefront, help to reflect the connected thinking and broader goals of the company’s sustainability strategy.
The revitalized strategy is activated through six spheres of impact – specific areas where the company is igniting positive change, guided by policies and purpose-driven initiatives:
- Employee Engagement
- Human Rights
- Responsible Gaming
- Community Engagement
- Sustainable Procurement
- Climate Action, Biodiversity, and Circularity
These spheres are the engines of transformation to which every Brightstar action is aligned. Accordingly, the 2024 Sustainability Report reflects this shift, with achievements and initiatives clearly mapped to the relevant spheres, detailing how the focused, intentional efforts of Brightstar’s people are driving real-world impact.
Achievements
As Brightstar progressed in its sustainability journey throughout 2024, the company’s achievements include:
Cloud Migration – Brightstar has taken steps to reduce the carbon impact of its digital operations. At various development hubs worldwide, the company has partnered with leading cloud service providers to migrate development and testing environments from on-premises data centers to the cloud. This transition supports continuous performance monitoring and enables the use of energy-efficient infrastructure while contributing to server consolidation, reduced hardware waste, and improved lifecycle management.
Digital playslips - To reduce paper consumption, Brightstar promotes the use of digital playslips and multi-bet playslips. In Italy, players are encouraged to complete Gioco del Lotto playslips digitally via the MyLotteries app. This approach has proven effective, as the number of playslips produced by the company has steadily declined in recent years, despite the growth in lottery participation. In 2025, Brightstar began digitalizing a portion of its point-of-sale advertising materials in Italy. By integrating QR code technology, players will be able to conveniently access detailed game information directly on their smartphones.
Ecodesign – In 2024, Brightstar advanced its Sustainability by Design approach by integrating life-cycle assessments for its retail terminals into the product-development process. The company aims to reduce the environmental impact across the full lifecycle of the terminals and their components. This approach includes thoughtful design and material choices as well as energy-efficient solutions.
EUDR Compliance - Brightstar committed to aligning its operations with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by sourcing paper for instant lottery tickets from suppliers who comply with stringent environmental standards set out in the EUDR. Through rigorous supplier vetting and traceability, the company supports sustainable forestry and reduces its environmental footprint—contributing to ecosystem preservation and climate action.
FSC paper – Beginning in 2019, Brightstar conducted a comprehensive mapping of all lottery products in Italy to ensure they are sourced from suppliers that have adopted the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified management practices and uphold strong sustainability programs. Since 2020, the company has transitioned to using FSC-certified paper for all lottery products.
Raw Material Consumption - Brightstar’s Lakeland, Florida, facility features an in-house ink color-matching and mixing center, which significantly reduces the use of plastic pails for custom and Pantone-matched inks. By tailoring ink production to specific project needs, the company effectively cuts down on material waste, including both ink and non-recyclable plastic containers.
Long-Term Vision
The company has long aligned its sustainability efforts with a number of relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and this commitment has also been refreshed and renewed by Brightstar with a commitment to seven SDGs that align specifically with Brightstar’s spheres of impact (see graphic).
From end to end, “our new sustainability strategy is authentic to who we are today and how we plan to carry it forward,” says Montgomery. “It reflects our evolution as Brightstar and an unwavering commitment to doing business responsibly. We aren’t just setting goals, we’re holding ourselves accountable to build a future where our people thrive, our partners grow, and our planet is protected. Sustainability is integral to our culture and our long-term vision to elevate and serve the lottery industry. But we know real progress doesn’t happen in isolation. We invite our customers, peers, and partners across the industry to join us in shaping a more responsible, inclusive, and resilient future.”
Brightstar Sustainability Report 2024
To learn more about the work being done by Brightstar’s dedicated employees to advance the lottery industry, foster sustainability, and remain “Ahead of the Game,” read the full 2024 Sustainability Report
