Okay so the folks at Tatts have woken from a year of slumber about Lottoland. On top of their TVC, which I wrote about a couple of days ago, they have emailed their retailers today with this:
This is not the whole email. It contains call to action instructions and links to resources.
They should know that black text on a red background is hard for many people to read, especially some people who are colour blind as they see it as black on black.
Here is a copy of in-store collateral they are making available for use:
Tatts should have responded many months ago. Now, they have engaged in what some newsagents have said to me in an over the top campaign. With all the brightness of tatts collateral in-store and the requirement to not place non product material in the tatts space, Tatts is asking retailers to put up more distracting material that I suspect will get lost.
I think Tatts could have approached this in a smarter way. Not for a week or two weeks but with a long game in mind.
What they ask retailers to do in-store should reflect their TVC.
They have had a year to get this right. The email to Tatts retailers feels rushed and like it misses the mark. The messaging feels rushed, scared and inappropriate to the needs of local small businesses and their communities.
Thinking about this further, this in-store campaign feels like tatts is doing lip-service to its retailers rather than actually trying to address the issues. Our the TVC is excellent, but this campaign is not.
That really P*77 me off. Lottoland could destroy our business!! That’s great, I want my customers thinking I am totally reliant on Tatts, no thank you. I have worked hard over the years to reduce my reliance on gambling. It is also quite hypocritical coming from a company that actively markets online to reduce its retailers market share and commission.
The people who are in charge at Tatts must not consult anyone other than those that hang around their office water cooler!
The biggest laugh out loud moment for me upon reading this email was that we should display the materials outside our dedicated lottery area… Why should i devote MORE space outside of my dedicated area… Do i get to survey you guys and find you in breach of overlapping into my area of counter. Lottoland is not a threat to my business even if we are heavily reliant on lottery sales still. Tatts on the other hand has hurt us an awful lot.
You want us on your side Tatts, how bout some sort of incentive to stick with your product as opposed to most businesses moving away from it as we are. How about a 1% increase in commissions that will help justify marketting of materials that are not generating a sale/paying for the marketting requirements you have enforced on us with no justification (Digipos)
“as you know we strongly support you as a retailer of real lotto games and as a valued small business in Australias economy”
WTF .Thats bit rich Tatts
Just went back and had a read of the email.I think this is whats meant by ,shutting the gate after the horse has bolted !
Tatts has been destroying my business for quite a while. Thieving my customers through their sneaky advertising. Increasing compliance costs. Sitting on their hands while betting companies waltz in.
“strongly support you as a retailer…..” That is just a crooked smoke screen. They are startin to hurt – thats what is wrong.
If they want newsagents to be on side they need to build a few fences.
A commission increase would be a good start.
From the point of view in store this BRASH and AGGRESSIVE campaign misses the mark.
Why should customers really care whether they have a choice between real lotteries and a betting company? They have got a choice of both right now.
The tone of the campaign is wrong.
Billy my view is there is no upside on over the counter lottery sales. Newsagents and other retailers selling lottery products should be advanced in ensuring their businesses have a future without it. How newsagents are treated is a reflection of it being an agency product.
The more control you have over your business the more you are a retailer, and not an agent.
If Tatts really believed their message they would have acted on Lottoland long before now.
From and ‘outsiders’ view, why the heck would any newsagent who still sells Tatts support them in this program ?
What have Tatts done to support you other than lowering your workload by continually offering online sales to keep ppl from your shopfront ?
They don’t appear to be on your side.
The $s they are losing to Lottoland is probably a good deal more through online sales than in-store but they feel they need the public exposure, at your cost.
How much have Tatts cost you in the last 12mths ?
As said, this is an ‘outsiders’ view.
Yep agree with all of the above. Tatts are hurting so now they are doing something and quite frankly I don’t care. They couldn’t give a rats about us as agents for them or they wouldn’t have put all the costs on us alone for stuff such as fit outs that should have been at least partly covered by themselves.
They are scum !
Amazing how up till now their area reps have been saying Lottoland is having no effect on them. Yet again Tatts lies it appears otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to the lengths or costs of launching this campaign.
If someone from Lottoland just happens to be reading this and you really want to make an impact challenge Tatts sole ownership of over the counter lotto in Australia and Launch your own product ! Offer agents the potential for higher commission than what Tatts is offering and offer us better co-ownership of the product and we would support and flock to you in droves ! 😉
Paul I thought for a moment that may happen, now, I think not. However, Lottoland is not the only game in town.
More broadly, however, Tatts will never offer a better deal as it is inevitable lottery purchases move online. The business need is urgent and compelling.
Mark,
Your comments on lottery, advocating no future and planning for a life without lottery are factually ok but unbalanced.
For most newsagents and from my perspective, lottery commissions far outweigh profit from magazines, despite the latter absorbing vastly more shop space and labour.
Sure Lottoland is putting pressure on Tatts and therefore newsagents. But these are financially stable enterprises who will not be swayed by the weaknesses of the newsagency outlets. It is wasted effort to think we can win this fight. The international gambling industry will not swayed by local issues and small enterprises.
The bigger issue for all is the loss making of the magazine model, itself promoting and adjusting to the on line trend of subscribtion and digital. We should focus on the industry that does have some long term promise and give up on that which will follow its own course regardless of newsagents.
Colin, this thread is not about magazines.
You say my comments are unbalanced. I disagree. Let’s check in in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and see sales results. My comments are based on sales data.
Newsagents keen for a strong future should plan today for lottery revenue decline or none at all. Newsagency businesses and transitioned former newsagency businesses can have a bright future without lotteries but it takes planning and hard work. I have shared my numbers. I am happy with close to 20% YOY growth on the back of good previous year numbers.
I am not delighting in the migration of lottery revenue online or the now multiple challenges to the Tatts monopoly. These are happening and will gather pace. It is best that newsagents confront the challenge rather than fight about whether they will come, as they are here.
Mark,
If your newsagents are achieving 20% YOY growth you can congratulate yourself on having the world’s best performing newsagents. Indeed I can imagine that with a couple of years of continued growth you will be the most profitable retail stores of any description. The shopping malls will be at your door begging you to open a newsagency.
Well done !
The biggest issue is
TATTS want our help to stop on line lotteries from others yet we, all agents, receive no benefit from TATTS on line operations.
how about TATTS believe in their own propaganda of STRONGLY SUPPORTING us by sharing the proceeds of on line lotto.
If we benefit as a team we can work as a team.
The conversation here puzzle’s me! Regardless of Tatt’s agenda or not why wouldn’t we support a campaign against the overseas Lottland fake, whose entire presence and brand is online only? Yet I sense some people who are participating in this feed don’t want to support pushing back on Lottoland in protest to Tatts giving out more commission? I am confused……Protest against Tatts by not supporting the ban-lottoland campaign IMHO = twice as more customers going online out of my store ??!! At least this campaign drives some level of awareness and conversation with the general public….if you think Tatts is going to come to our aid with a silver plate and spoon buttered with extra commission…. your dreaming…..
Colin, no need to be sarcastic. I am public with my data, from unaltered POS software records. Plenty see it at the sessions run, as recently as a couple of weeks ago in NSW and QLD.
I am not alone with good numbers like this – including in your state.
I know of some who do their best to talk down success stories as they refuse to let success evidence challenge what they are experiencing in their business. It is sad to see.
Today, more than ever, newsagents can force change in their businesses. The opportunities are wonderful. Be joyful about those doing this and the success they are achieving.
We all make choices for our shops. Some work, some don’t. Being right abut a trend or an opportunity while others in my community are not right does not make me feel good as I want more from the channel to be enjoying success.
Colin, you and I met right at the time you took over your business. I outlined what I thought would happen in the channel and what newsagents needed to do. You decided to go your own way, as is your right. I have gone in a different direction. We are each responsible for where we are at today.
Joe I think the summation is that Tatts only want our help because they are starting to hurt. We hurt not just because they take business from us but because they really don’t have any interest in us apart from being a vehicle to use to sell their product until they migrate more fully to online.
In QLD they have continuously said that their online business wasn’t taking from newsagents which is a blatant lie. They even stopped paying partial commissions on online sales to the “home agent” of the online purchaser and claimed the amount was negligable. Well apparently it isn’t !
Mark.
Your good previous years would presumably be 2016 and 2017. So you will be looking to forward to the results of 2018. 2019 and 2020 and more 20% YOY growth.
Assuming 2016 is 100, your turnover in 2020 will be 248. An amazing 148% increase on 2016 which is what 20% YOY growth results in over 5 years.
I was not being sarcastic. I was highlighting the fantastic results you are claiming to be achieve.
I acquired the business in January 2014 and do not recall you visiting my store prior to our refit 10 months later, although I do recall your representative visiting during that time and discussing how to rotate magazines. I have invited you to visit several times since the refit, you have not done so. Sure we have had discussions since, but none on a basis with you having knowledge of my store.
Joe,
I am not unsupportive. My stance is that the online betting companies have a complete disregard to newsagents as they are a growing industry that do not need us. It is a wasted of effort to try and change them. The industry where we have clout is magazine distribution and is more important as with mags we have collateral sales within out stores. It is also where we are being absolutely fleeced. Our efforts should be aimed at the magazine distributors not the betting companies.
No Colin, 2015 and 2016. When I say YOY I mean year on year, year on previous year.
There is no claim on the results. There is evidence, data.
You and I sat in the cafe next to your business and then in your back office,. We looked over plans, before the fit. We talked for some time about strategy.
Joe – I am all for a campaign against Lottoland from Tatts but it has to be done right. There will be stores who are either too reliant on Tatts or too scared to speak up that will think this is a good promotion. I personally think it is terrible and just trains the general public to think my store is a lottery agent, nothing more. That is not my store and I do not want years of hard work disappearing by putting up posters saying I will close down if Lottoland succeeds.
Not all publicity is good publicity and I have let my Tatts rep know this. But stores promoting this campaign shows the good and the bad of our industry. Con – The non compliance of the industry as a whole and the Pro that it is your own store and you can make your own decisions.
the posters are welcome for my dog’poos
What I want to know is whether the online gaming legislation being introduced will affect Lottoland given that they are not actually a Lottery seller per se, but are effectively a gambling outfit
I recieved 2 boxes of propoganda from tatts today re lottoland gotta go. I promptly trollyed it to the bin.
In the UK, Lottoland is barred from offering bets on Camelot’s Lotto draw.
The emphasis in Australia should be its lack of “social license” to operate – which is exactly what the TV campaign is hinting at. But its still too obscure for the average punter who thinks the Lott and Lottoland are essentially the same outfit.
Also, concentrating on the potential damage to Newsagencies (from some comments I’ve seen) simply elicits a lot of sarcastic comment about “too frightened to compete” from fools who misunderstand the complete issue.
Tatts really need to consider their “strategy” a bit more.
I find it ironic that tatts want the network to fight their war against lottoland. All seems a little cowardly. Tatts know newsagents are powerful political pawns. Thats a double edged sword.
I note that Lottoland are offering a $100million first prize for next week’s Oz Lotto draw (against Tatts’ $5million). This could certainly be damaging.
I’m concerned that agents putting up anti lottoland posters may legitimise the competion and inadvertently attract more customers for them.
This is a battle that needs to be fought at government/regulator level. It is highly irresponsible for governments of some states to allow millions of dollars of income to be lost while other states safeguard theirs. It is also irresponsible to offer no support to small tax-paying businesses being ambushed by multi-national tax dodgers.
Cameron,
truth in advertising in does not exist here (more so with Lottoland than the Lot) and their is nothing like free market competition between states for tax.
I owned a Lotto Kiosk for several years and was involved in the Lottery Agents Association. I advocated that Tatts participate in an international lottery game with a 6/45 matrix and a jackpot of hundreds of millions that Camelot UK was trying to set up. Tatts said no, this will destroy all our local lotto games. I asked where was the research to prove this doubtful assumption, and Tatts would not answer that question (doubtless there was and is no such research, as Euro Millions has been offered by 9 countries since 2004, and none of their other 6 and 5 ball games on the market in 2004 have been shut down. I was asked by the Agents Association to stop raising this issue, and I left the industry soon after.
Were an agent today, I would support Tatt’s campaign, as at least people can buy Tatts shares on the ASX, and get dividends paid to them. But if the campaign fails to influence our state and commonwealth pollies, the newsagent and lottery agents associations should lobby Tatts to set up some sort of multinational game to compete with Lottoland that we and they could sell. Of course Tatts could say no.
What then? Either (1) lobby governments to outlaw all online betting and lotteries all at once. Or (2) Then approach Lottoland and get them to lobby state governments and to allow their products into our shops.
Thomas Fischer,
Lottoland have been making noises about working with Newsagencies – I don’t know with what degree of sincerity – but Tatts seem to be pushing the newagents into the line of fire without accepting much flak themselves….and I wonder what new directions of business model they are planning with their union with TABCORP?
David, on this matter, Lottoland was all talk and NO action.
Thanks Mark,
Reading about how they operate in Europe, I suspected as much..
Im under no delusion that over the counter lottery sales are on borrowed time. This campaign has nothing to do with protecting small business but everything to do with Tatts protecting their online presence and more importantly their potential future online customers.
I read the letter accompanying my toolkit and it was laughable.
Maybe they should have thought about what if they needed my help before they burned that bridge
. Sorry Tatts do your own dirty work
I received my package today. I took a different approach and displayed some of the items including the petition. I did not have to ask my customers if they wanted to sign they automatically did sign. Most of my customers either know or did not realize the facts behind Lottoland and are hoping we can have the respective State Governments ban Lottoland like in South Australia.
This is a start for us as Agents for Tatts if this benefits them it will benefit us and the community by Tatts paying taxes which benefits Austalians not someone in Gibraltar.If we can have State Governments ban online gambling With Lottoland this could led to further banning of online gambling under the responsible gambling act.So fellows and ladies lets give it a go I can only see we got nothing to loose .
Colin
while it is possible and probably a very good thing for State Governments to ban Lottoland just how is this ban enforced particularly on Modern Smart phones and other Internet connections.
An individual makes a choice to use Lottoland and contacts them from a smart phone or an internet connection. Does the State insist an app from the State must be used on all smart phones and internet connections in that state to prevent punters from contacting Lottoland.
This really is the same problem that was had some years a ago with people gambling with illegal SP Bookmakers by Telephone.
How do we prevent this gambling going off shore to another Lottoland site, this means no tax paid.
China in some provinces now insists a state provided app be placed on all smart phones in its state to prevent those phones be used for non approved activities in this case Sunni Extremism.
Much as I would love to see restrictions on open slather Gambling, just how do we achieve and prevent it presents a very interesting problem.
I think we have all been pleading with Tatts to “do something” about this for a long time now. The campaign has some flaws sure but at least it’s something to start with. Whilst I did not see any news last night I believe that some national news outlets ran this story and at least it may help to get it under the noses of a few of our Pollies. I know since I put up the posters in-store it has created a lot of great discussions with my customers. Do we flog Tatts over a few flaws or do we take the idea and make it our own and keep hammering away at the local Pollie to take up our cause? I know which option will be better spent with my time. I think it’s probably a little dangerous to at least not see where we can all take this……..what’s the other option….bin the promotion and do nothing…..then whinge after the Lottoland horse has bolted?
“Lottoland’s Gotta Go” is to little to late. You only have to look at where State and Federal government’s are heading with their proposed POC (point of consumption) tax on online gambling. This is a tax on the actual transaction with a corresponding cut in license fee and taxes to state licensed players to ensure government revenue is not affected by off shore betting.
To be blunt Government has run up the white flag and are now proposing to cover their own asses and screw the rest of us.
Steve I agree with you. If you look at my post this morning it shows recent actions that have also guided governments to look at this.
Good to hear some balanced views @colin (33) and @Allan(35). With the dogpoo and trolley to bin comments I was worried everyone was sticking fingers in ears going la,la,la,la! We have been waiting a while for this, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out politically. As you correctly state also Mark this really is more than just about Lottoland!!!
Simple answer is to ban online gambling…but Tatts wouldn’t want that would they!!!
To ban on line gambling we must put pressure on the State and Federal Ministers therefore it is very important that we have the petition by as many customers as possible,this will show them that their constituents are not happy and will have to react to their wishes. If WA and South Australia can do it so can the other states. I had customers coming in today wanting to sign the petition when they realized Lottoland is not paying any taxes like Tatts. Another thing is that ALNA the state bodies must maintain the publicity in all media groups and educating the public. Our best allies are the public at large who do not like a foreign owned company making money and not paying their way.
The capacity of ALNA to fight is determined by the newsagent funds they have access to.
It seems WA will be banning Lottoland in the near future..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-16/wa-lottoland-ban-likely-premier-defends-lotterywest/8952130 Tatts ought to spend more time lobbying State politicians in QLD, NSW & VIC than using Newsagents to get their message across.
I heard on radio news that victorian govt will introduce a ban on advertising of lottoland and similar product along with bans on betting billboards and near schools. Anyone heard any more about this? Maybe a ban on advertising lottoland will assist!
How many times do we have to tell them to improve the Over the Counter processes….eg scan on sale scratchies.
Make the customer experience the best (and most efficient) it can be.
Instead of slowing down our service levels and leaving the next customer waiting longer than they have to?
Its the slow service that is pushing customers away from newsagencies.
I am anti scan on sale because of the time wasting.They want more data so that can see sales patterns etc. The worry is that the pattern will be a downward spiral. I still get heaps pp asking me why I have to do it all twice.
Interesting stuff. I got a call from the deputy premier office today asking if they can come into our store and discuss the issues with lottoland.
I have issues with lottoland and tatts. Will be a intetesting conversation. Does anyone know if we are can publicy bag tatts. Wonder if there is some clause in our contracts about that?
Be sure and let us all know how that goes Chris
I dont think you could class explaining issues you have with Tatts as “publicly bagging” I explain them to customers all the time.
Lottoland is much better than getting a ticket from a news agency maybe you old farts should learn how to fucking use a phone and register for lottoland
And I hope lottoland runs companies out of business bcuz you’s deserve it you rip off pricks
Are you having more luck with lottoland matt? Sounds like you wld be more likely to get 6 numbers in lotto than an IQ test with grammar like that.
“rip off pricks”
Now there is a conversation I would like to have face to face with you Matt you goose.Let me know if you would like my address.
poor Matt.
Obviously doesn’t know shit about Lottoland.
In case you didnt notice tasmania just banned lottoland. They join SA and will soon be followed by WA. Hansons support in Qld will ensure that state is next, which will pull Vic and Nsw into line. Game over. Next !
If Tatts were really concerned about the viability of newsagents then they would not have launched their own online ticket service. This is all about the profits of Tatts and they are using newsagents as pawns in this in a misleading and emotive based attack on a business competitor.