During the conference ‘Innovation and the Future of Lotteries in Latin America’, industry leaders from several countries shared their experiences in the process of modernisation and transformation of lotteries in the region.

The panel, moderated by Javier Milián, President of CIBELAE and the Loteria Nacional de Beneficencia de El Salvador, featured presentations from Esmeralda Britton of the Costa Rican Lottery and Roberto Beltrán Burgos of the Loteria de Concepción, Chile. Each detailed how their respective lotteries have faced the challenges of recent years and the innovations implemented to adapt to the new times.

The panel began with Javier Milián, who addressed the main questions to guide the dialogue: ‘How have lotteries in your countries evolved over the last few years, what challenges have they faced and how are they currently doing?’

With this structure, Milián invited the panellists to share their particular experiences, starting with an introduction to the state of the lottery in El Salvador.

Javier Milián, moderator of the panel, and President of CIBELAE and the Loteria Nacional de Beneficiencia de El Salvador:

‘In the case of El Salvador, before the government of President Nayib Bukele, the Loteria Nacional de Beneficencias had not been fulfilling its charitable function for years. It was a lottery in free fall, to the point of being close to closure. The lack of innovation had been evident, as the last time something new was introduced was in 1989, and the institution was stagnating. However, with the new government in 2019, we face the responsibility to modernise the lottery in an accelerated manner.’

Milián highlighted a key moment in this transformation: the approval of a new law in December 2021, which allowed the Lottery not only to operate traditional games, but also to regulate sports betting games and casinos in El Salvador. ‘This change was fundamental to revitalise an institution that, until then, operated under a 1969 law. Now, we are not only rescuing the Lottery, but expanding our scope to new areas of regulation,’ he concluded.

With the El Salvador framework set, the moderator invited Roberto Beltrán Burgos to share the Chilean experience.

Roberto Beltrán Burgos, Innovation and Development Manager Lotería de Concepción Chile

Beltrán Burgos explained that the Lotería de Concepción, founded in 1921, has a unique model, being neither public nor private, but that since its origin it has been linked to education in southern Chile. ‘Our first draw was a raffle among acquaintances to support the University of Concepción, which today is one of the most prominent in Latin America. We have evolved over the years, and until 1992 we only had the traditional ticket raffle. Then we were allowed to expand with games like Kino, and later we started to operate with digitalised systems.’

One of the key innovations was the implementation of online sales. ‘By 1998, we were selling tickets on the internet, and we have continued to develop integrations with third-party networks, such as supermarkets and pharmacies. The pandemic was a turning point for us, as we went from 3-5% online sales to 35% during that period. This technological leap was vital to keep us afloat in difficult times,’ Beltrán explained.

Finally, Milián gave the floor to Esmeralda Britton to share the situation of the Lottery in Costa Rica.

Esmeralda Britton, President of Junta de Protección Social Costa Rica:

Britton began by offering a historical perspective: ‘The Costa Rican Social Protection Board was created 179 years ago, originally as the Quality Board, with the objective of helping vulnerable people. The National Lottery was created as a mechanism to generate resources for social welfare programmes’.

In recent years, Costa Rica has faced several challenges, particularly illegal lottery sales, which led to the creation of new products and modernisation processes. ‘We started selling at electronic points of sale in 2013, and today we have more than 1800 points of sale. But, as in other countries, the pandemic forced us to adapt quickly. In just 45 days we launched our online platform, which allowed citizens to continue buying tickets despite the restrictions.’

One of the most recent milestones has been the development of a proprietary platform for online lottery sales, which has been remarkably successful. ‘Today we have more than 400,000 people buying tickets online in a country of just over 5 million people, which has allowed us to expand our player base and adapt to new consumer trends,’ Britton concluded.

The first part of the panel concluded with a strong message: innovation and adaptation are essential for the future of lotteries in Latin America. Technological advances not only modernise the sector, but also broaden its social impact.

This led to the second part of the panel, where the moderator presented two key questions: What is happening and what is the vision for the future of gaming in Chile?