IGT focuses on success in Poland with lottery operator Totalizator Sportowy

IGT reflects on the ongoing progress it has achieved in the Polish lottery sector thanks to a solid working partnership with Totalizator Sportowy and the introduction of a host of innovative product styles.
Image: Shutterstock

IGT reflects on the ongoing progress it has achieved in the Polish lottery sector thanks to a solid working partnership with Totalizator Sportowy and the introduction of a host of innovative product styles.

Gaming and lottery firm IGT has enjoyed significant success in the Polish lottery market with operator Totalizator Sportowy (TS) which marked its 65th anniversary in January last year. 

As well as continuing to strongly support its sports and culture beneficiaries, the lottery had also celebrated another milestone in December 2020, when it entered the online eInstant game category for the first time with the launch of IGT’s eInstant game portfolio. 

TS lottery players have been able to purchase ilottery draw games online since 2018, and now they are enjoying a fresher online play experience – instant results without having to wait for a draw. 

Reflecting on developments, Maciej Kasprzak, Online Gaming Director, Totalizator Sportowy, said: “By launching a new segment of LOTTO games available online, we wanted to offer our customers another level of entertainment and a completely new experience related to cash lotteries. 

“Now, players in Poland can access a growing library of fun and interactive eInstants, small, casual games, which we call Gierki.”

In late 2020, TS selected and launched games from the extensive eInstant library on IGT’s responsive ilottery web platform, and the Lottery launched iOS and Android mobile apps in 2021. 

IGT assists the Lottery in a number of ways, namely localising the games by changing the titles and translating them into Polish and actively analysing game performance. The firm also optimises prize structures and payouts to enhance the player experience and schedules monthly game releases to include a mix of content play styles to accommodate different player preferences. 

With the addition of eInstant games, both sales and active online Lottery users have grown. The online Lottery channel realised 6% of total lottery monthly sales after launching online draw games. 

Now with the addition of Instant Wins, as of October 2021, the online lottery channel represents 8-9% of total lottery sales.  Also, with eInstants in the product mix, active players increased 26% from October 2020 (no eInstants) to October 2021. 

According to IGT, the firm partners with each customer in order to meet their specific business goals and jurisdictional requirements. In Poland, to help build the launch marketing plan prior to go-live, it organised a leading-practices workshop for the Lottery’s marketing team, and also a soft launch of the games that attracted immediate attention from players. 

A robust marketing campaign followed in April, aligned with the launch of three new games over consecutive weeks. 

The 360-degree campaign included both traditional and digital media and comprised a TV campaign featuring games and people playing at home, on the bus, and on the go alongside out of home billboards. 

It also used posters and video for social media posts, digital banners, play and get promotions and drew upon players and vloggers to promote Gierki on YouTube. A social media campaign featuring influencers such as actors and sports figures posted videos to Instagram 

Kasprzak added: “We are extremely pleased with the success of the Gierki product and the results of our marketing activity, and we are enthusiastic about our future plans to build out the roadmap.”

TS and IGT said they continue to work together to continue to strengthen the TS eInstant portfolio and program by fine-tuning game selection and prize structures based on continuous analysis of game performance. 

Watch a video featuring Totalizator Sportowy’s 360-degree campaign.