In commenting about the announcement from the Queensland government that they plan to ban Lottoland, Luke Brill, Lottoland CEO said:
The majority of Lottoland’s customers have never bought a lottery ticket in a newsagency, and are largely online sports betters who are embracing new technologies.
The Lottoland TV campaign that has run for most of this year does not support this opinion. They directly targeted newsagents, in an apparent effort to redirect newsagency shoppers to Lottoland. I call their claim – The majority of Lottoland’s customers have never bought a lottery ticket in a newsagency – as bullshit.
The Lottoland TVC also sought to educate customers about technology. If Lottoland customers are embracing new technologies then why promote it as they did?
Brill goes on to say:
We are open to talks with the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association about a model that lets newsagents cash-in on online punters. We want to grow the market together, not try to destroy it like Tatts is doing in a bid to maintain its monopoly.
If true, they have left it to late in the day to try and work with newsagents. They have spent most of 2017 mocking newsagents. If they really want to grow the market together they need to apologise for the damage they did to the reputation of newsagents.
I don’t think Tatts is trying to destroy the market as Brill claims. I think the opposite is true. I think Tatts is trying to grow spending on its products. However, I think Tatts’ prime focus by far is on its revenue with minimal regard to revenue for newsagents.
That is an issue separate to the Lottoland issues. It is unhelpful that Lottoland links them.
Lottoland’s behaviour is like the kid who got caught misbehaving and responds by pointing to another kid and saying what about them. Grow up Lottoland. Own your situation and own that you have spent 2017 denigrating newsagency businesses, those who own them and those who working them.
Brill is becoming shrill because successive state governments are acting, like South Australia did earlier this year, to make the sale of Lottoland and similar products illegal.
It was not that long ago that Brill stated that Newsagents are just about gone. Now that there has been a backlash with the campaign and after mocking newsagents he wants to smoke the peace pipe with us, as far as I am concerned I would not trust Brill or Lottoland.
Sure Tatts is pushing on line sales but they are still better to deal with than Lottoland.
Yes, Brill is shifting positions as he feels more boxed-in. That said, Tatts is the far bigger risk to newsagents, today.
Not sure Id call ” bullshit “on his comments regarding ticket sales.
I would also add that interview I watched the other day was spot on.
Still its quiet easy to see straight through comments regarding wanting to help newsagencies .