Multinational retail giant Walmart revealed that it is preparing a lottery push, hoping to capitalize on the increased demand for lottery products. At its annual summit in April, the company told lottery vendors that it plans to offer lottery and iLottery products.
The summit was attended by companies such as IGT, NeoPollard and Scientific Games. While Walmart’s exact plans are still unclear, the company revealed a new slogan aimed at the lottery industry, “Be in it to Win it,” according to presentation materials from the summit.
Walmart’s exact plans are still unknown and may take time to come to fruition but, according to Lottery Geeks, the shift toward lottery gaming is already underway.
According to experts, Walmart’s lottery plans may seek to solve the “frustrating disconnect” between lottery point-of-sale systems and stores’ internal POS systems that other retail giants have been experiencing. This disconnect is effectively depriving retail companies of valuable online shopping data.
Lottery Geeks concluded that Walmart’s plan is to leverage its financial stability to solve this matter, gaining an edge over its competitors. However, the lottery news outlet did not receive confirmation from Walmart that this is the case.
Walmart Selects Lazlo as Its Lottery Developer
Considering Walmart’s size, its desire to expand into new verticals in a way that provides it with an edge over its competitors is not that surprising. Something that took the industry by surprise, however, was the retail giant’s choice of developer for its digital app.
As it turns out, Walmart selected Lazlo, an Alpharetta-based platform provider that “bridges the gap between brick and mortar and digital sales channels.” The choice perplexed analysts considering that Lazlo is a fairly small provider that isn’t as renowned as other companies in the sector.
In any case, Lazlo’s ability to deliver a robust and reliable app for Walmart is yet to be seen.
Walmart Changed Its Philosophy
Lottery Geeks also pointed out that Walmart’s lottery plans mark a shift in its direction. While the company previously tended to avoid the lottery sector as some people consider lottery gaming to constitute gambling, it has now seemingly changed its philosophy.
Walmart’s new direction is likely inspired by the rapid growth of iLottery gaming. Online lotteries are now available in 14 US jurisdictions and are poised for further growth.
An IGT representative previously pointed out that Walmart looks at the lottery sector in a different way and has a novel approach to automation.
Walmart, according to Lottery Geeks, could possibly revolutionize the market if it manages to find a way to operate as both a vendor dealing with the state and as a retailer that is selling lottery tickets. The lottery experts also guessed that Walmart could also form an alliance with the Mega Millions consortium.
In any case, if Walmart succeeds in aligning lottery and retail POS systems, it will be a true game changer that is likely to revolutionize the sector.
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