Supporting the sense of responsibility in players overrides profit expectations!

– Trends have accelerated in the national lottery sector, with digitalisation and transforming player habits reshaping the future. By the end of last year we prepared our first integrated commercial strategy and the related action plan, which address the growth directions of our digital channels and retail network for the future. More than 5 million people play with us in Hungary’s largest retail network of 7,500 outlets, and we will pass the 1.5 million digital player mark this year. Szerencsejáték Zrt. realised double-digit sales growth last year and at the end of May 2024 we launched a new betting app.

 – The commercial changes are definitely down to you, a person coming from the FMCG world. Will there be a link connecting Szerencsejáték Zrt. and the FMCG sector in the near future?

– I started my career at Nestlé Magyarország in my last year of university. At Szerencsejáték Zrt. there are many similarities with the FMCG sector, which I can effectively use in my work here. We work with nearly 3,500 SME partners and 15,000 vendors dealing with our products.

 – Your development in MOL shops is another new direction. What are your plans for the future?

– It is a global trend for national lottery companies to partner with strategic networks, where their players go and shop anyway, in addition to dedicated lottery retailers. In our case this includes Hungarian Post, MOL and Lapker, which make up 30% of our total land-based network. In the summer of 2022 we extended our network to almost all MOL Nyrt. domestic service stations in 355 locations. We will open modern Post Office Lotteries at the 20 busiest units of Hungarian Post by the end of 2025.

 – Where do you see the company in the longer term? What challenges do you foresee for the future?

– Last February I took over the management of the commercial areas, together with our marketing activities. I see a clear future for us in data-driven, personalised, accountable service and an excellent player experience, which we started building last year and have linked to a loyalty programme and the launch of a super-app next year.

 – What role and responsibilities do you have in this system?

– My managerial role will be mainly at strategic and project level, plus building the right team and organisation. What I would really like to highlight is the issue of responsibility. We plan to take the strengthening of individual player consciousness and responsible gaming to a new level by building our data assets and systems, and by applying predictive models and AI on top of them. This is perhaps one of the most exciting chapters of our work, one that overrides our profit expectations. //