Asked about what drove the substantial increase in total revenue, lottery Director Eric Hagler said many factors impact lottery sales, but it's impossible to ignore the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. "Entertainment options are limited in the current social environment, and we believe sales of lottery game tickets has been viewed as an enjoyable venue for entertainment," he said in a written statement. "We believe that limited options have, indeed, delivered new players to the lottery platform for entertainment." Hagler, who started as director Aug. 6, said lottery officials also believe compelling and creative marketing has served to continually increase awareness of the wide variety of games offered, as well as educate consumers as to the lottery's mission to provide scholarships to Arkansas students.

“Many people don’t know that the Illinois Lottery helps fund several organizations throughout the year by launching specialty tickets,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Harold Mays said. “This September, we’re thrilled to be partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois for the first time to help enable the impactful work they do in Alzheimer’s care and awareness.”

“We handpick the newest and most popular Texas Lottery scratch games to offer on the app, and we know our players are looking forward to football season,” said Jackpocket Founder and CEO Peter Sullivan. “Our scratch ticket feature is another way Jackpocket makes playing the lottery more fun and convenient.”

"These game names, marking the 12th in our partnership with the New Orleans Saints, truly reflect how we all feel about our team right now," said Lottery President and CEO, Rose Hudson. "The Saints have always had a way of uniting us as Louisianians and that hasn't changed even under these trying circumstances."   "With so many changes anticipated for the upcoming season, it's great to know fans can count on the Louisiana Lottery to deliver excitement with Saints team-branded scratch-offs," said New Orleans Saints President Dennis Lauscha.

"The decrease was largely due to measures against the spread of coronavirus, when we closed part of the branches. This was mainly the case in Greece and Italy. In the Czech Republic and Austria, the impacts were smaller. "said Robert Chvátal, CEO of the company. According to him, the future impact of the measures on companies and the economy as a whole is difficult to predict. "But it is clear that the pandemic has allowed us to accelerate our strategy of increasing the share of online betting," Chvátal added.

Dr. Chris Dimitriadis, INTRALOT Group CEO stated: “We would like to thank DIA for its continued confidence and trust more than a decade. The extension of our partnership is an endorsement of our successful cooperation in implementing a high-quality operating service performance out of EMS. Our world-class solution, designed according to Gaming Association standards, serves the most demanding regulatory environments and we are committed to continue supporting DIA on establishing a responsible gaming environment for the local player community.”

“We are honored to have our responsible gambling efforts recognized on an international level,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “The Texas Lottery just finished another strong sales year in fiscal year 2020 while remaining committed to the World Lottery Association’s standards for responsible gambling. We look forward to enhancing our responsible gambling efforts, as we continue to remind our players to Play Responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win.”

“Being named best test lab and being recognized for our technological developments are incredible honors; however, what these awards illustrate is GLI has the best, most dedicated employees in the business,” said GLI President/CEO James R. Maida. “At GLI, our entire staff is constantly and proactively thinking of ways to improve time to market and reduce costs for our customers. That innovative spirit and dedication to the industry is what drives us at GLI, and we are humbled to be recognized for our ingenuity.”

“We are honored that the Michigan Gaming Control Board has approved GLI to test and certify iGaming and mobile sports betting,” said Peter Wolff, Director of Global Technical Compliance. “We have been helping regulators and suppliers navigate the future of iGaming and mobile sports betting for decades, and we are excited to put our worldwide experience to work for Michigan.”

“We are meeting increased consumer demand for our scratch cards with an expanded game portfolio and aligning with international trends for player self-service solutions in our sales network. This important pilot is off to a strong start, and may guide other German lotteries in their retail modernization plans,” said Dr. Siegfried Bohring, Deputy Managing Director of Sachsenlotto, who also chairs a national instant lotteries group in Germany. “Self-service technology is already modernizing the lottery retail network in the U.S. and in other countries. Scientific Games has led innovation in this area, helping our lottery customers expand retail distribution to drive maximum sales and profits for their good causes,” said Matthias Müller, VP Sales & Marketing for International Lottery Systems at Scientific Games.

“POWERBALL is excited to offer players a new opportunity to win $1 million during America’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration,” said May Scheve Reardon, POWERBALL Product Group Chair and Missouri Lottery Executive Director. “The renewal of this promotion is a fun way for lotteries to continue their vital mission of raising funds for good causes in their respective jurisdictions.” “We’re thrilled to once again partner with POWERBALL to make more dreams come true as audiences gather to bid farewell to 2020 on the top-rated New Year’s Eve broadcast,” said Kevin Patrick Smith, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships, dick clark productions. “It was such a powerful moment last year when we crowned a very deserving ‘POWERBALL First Millionaire of the Year’ winner live on the air, and we cannot wait to help a new winner kick off 2021.”