Lotteries says it’s ‘low risk’ amid looming crackdown on online ads

Lottery Corp, the operator of the Lott and Keno brands, has distanced itself from the looming crackdown on online gambling.

Lotteries Corp last month reported a 13.8 per cent increase in annual revenue to $4bn.

Lottery Corp, the operator of the Lott and Keno brands, has distanced itself from the looming crackdown on online gambling, saying its business is low risk because of the small amounts spent by its customers.

Lottery Corp chief executive Sue van der Merwe told the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday that there was a growing belief in the Australian community that some forms of online gambling were too readily available and the associated advertising was excessive.

“Governments have responded to this with various reforms and inquiries,” said Ms van der Merwe. “In this context, it’s important to reinforce that lotteries are quite different. Lotteries are generally a low-spend purchase with the average weekly spend by our customers in the financial year 2024 being around $13.

“They are a low-harm product largely because of the game structure where there’s typically one draw each week or each day.”

She said the company awaited the federal government’s response to the parliamentary committee inquiry into online gambling and its impact on those experiencing gambling harm. “We also acknowledge the federal government’s recently announced review into the impact of online keno and foreign match lottery products,” she said, “As you would expect, we are participating in the process.”

Ms van der Merwe said the company had a comprehensive responsible play program in place that recognised that “while for most Australians playing games was fun, for a very small number of people it can become a ­problem.”

Lotteries Corp chief executive Sue van der Merwe.

With this in mind, it had enhanced the use of data analytics in early intervention to more effectively identify customers showing potential signs of gambling harm, she said.

Ms Van de Merwe said the company was pleased with the start to the financial year, with signs of improvement in lottery sales.

“Keno has continued its good momentum and sales for the $100m Powerball draw in August were above the equivalent draw in May,” she said.

“We will continue to actively manage the portfolio to maximise game performance, including our prize offers, based on market conditions.”

She confirmed a change to Saturday Lotto, its second most popular game, that would include a price increase and changes in prizes.

Last month, the company reported a 13.8 per cent increase in annual revenue to $4bn as more Australians signed up as customers despite the cost-of-living crisis. Net profit surged 21.3 per cent to $411.8 as customers rose to a record 4.75m.

Lottery Corp also was planning to introduce charitable games products as part of the Lott digital channel.

A total of $4.4bn was returned to lottery players in prizes last year and more than 320 players became overnight millionaires or multi-millionaires. A record $200m Powerball draw was “a history-making moment in Australian lotteries”.

“A draw of this size gets Australia talking, captivates customers and sees queues forming in retail stores,” said Ms van der Merwe. “At its peak, we sold more than 9000 tickets a minute, with searches for Powerball dominating Google and social media search terms as that draw made headlines across the country. The draw introduced 170,000 new active registered players and 40 per cent of them have made a subsequent purchase. These new players skew younger and are more likely to use digital channels.”

Retail outlets remained an important part of the company’s network, with turnover growing 6.6 per cent.

Lottery Corp shares closed down 3c at $5.09 on Tuesday.

Originally published as Lotteries says it’s ‘low risk’ amid looming crackdown on online ads