Lotteries & Covid-19: From tactical to strategic continuity

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to have a dramatic impact worldwide, organisations across all sectors face countless questions on the implications of this outbreak on the continuity of their operations and how these should be addressed. In order to support Members in this unprecedented situation, EL has produced an overview of operational continuity elements that could be – and many of them already are – implemented by individual lotteries to enhance their capability of an effective response.

Upon the request of the EL Executive Committee and building on the experiences of EL members, the EL Operational Risk and Assurance (ORA) Working Group has produced an overview of elements that could be – and many of them already are – implemented by individual lotteries to ensure their operational continuity in these challenging times. The overview spans over six different categories ranging from basic elements to those related to employees, infrastructure, IT/cyber, business/operational and communication. Each of these play a particular role in enhancing the capability of an effective overall response of individual lotteries in case of a contingency scenario.

In their immediate response to the outbreak, the vast majority of EL Members have already taken a series of actions with the top priority being the protection of players, their own employees, retail network staff and providers staff. The most common ones are alternative ways of working (remotely), travel restrictions, enhanced workplace and personal hygiene, as well as continued regular communication – foremost internally – but also with the players and all the other stakeholders.

The way ahead is a precarious one, driven by epidemiological uncertainty and the yet unknown final effects on both the supply of and demand for lottery products. While settling into their new routines, lotteries should thus already start laying the groundwork for identifying long-term strategic implications of this crisis in case it is prolonged and prepare the most appropriate response in order to safeguard own interests.

On a more positive note, while the current situation is certainly a challenging one, it could also be embraced as an opportunity for the lotteries to further enhance their digital transformation, as well as their operational and overall business resilience.

The EL note on the operational continuity of lotteries during COVID-19 is available to EL members only via the EL INFO HUB.