Just like every business, professional association, and trade organization, the North American lottery industry gathers once a year for an annual conference to share best practices, discuss relevant topics to all, and to celebrate the creative successes in product delivery and advertising.
At the end of September, during the North American State and Provincial Lottery Association's (NASPL) 2019 Annual Conference held in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Idaho Lottery was recognized with two of the Lottery industry's highest accolades, Innovation Awards for the Best New Scratch Game and the Best New Draw Game during the past Fiscal Year.
The awards are voted on by the Idaho Lottery's peers in the industry and mark one of the highest achievements a Lottery can attain. Both awards distinguish efforts made to create and communicate the innovative attributes of new Scratch and Draw style games.
NASPL is comprised of 52 member Lotteries from Canada, the United States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, as well as 42 vendor Associate Members from across the globe. This is the first time in the history of both awards that a single Lottery has won both Innovation Awards from NASPL in the same year.
The games in particular were some of your favorites during the past year. The new addition of Powerball Arcade, its online games, and its weekly, monthly, and twice-annual big prizes were an instant success among players. This new game brought added value to Powerball, giving players the opportunity to extend their play with a new and unique game format for additional benefits and prizes.
The Best New Instant Game was the entire family of Scratch games offered for the Idaho Lottery's 30th Anniversary. With the introduction of a new ticket worth $30, the Lottery felt everyone should be able to participate, so we offered a $5 version and a $10 version to fit every player and budget.
These games were evaluated on a variety of criteria including innovative aspects of the game that featured a second-chance, on-line game for all three games as well as their visual appeal.
In addition to connecting with our players on a great celebration, this family of games featured exceptional digital player experiences and created $2.8 million in dividends for our beneficiaries, Idaho public schools and the state's permanent facilities.
It's not very often we get to publicly celebrate our successes, and give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done. These awards, though, would not be possible without the continued support from those who made them successful: You, our players. We strive to offer the best overall experience for you.
For your continued support for 30 years, thank you. And here's to the next three decades of winning and success!
