Australia's largest lottery operator is building a new smartphone app because its digital operation has done a poor job of recreating the fun of playing the lottery.
The Lottery Corporation, which runs Powerball, Oz Lotto and Set for Life, plans to launch an AI-powered smartphone app built from scratch in the next 12 to 18 months.
Online lottery tickets were more convenient - and more profitable for the company - but something about the retail experience had been lost, the company's chief operating officer for digital Loren Somerville said.
"It was never just a transaction in retail," she told analysts at an investor day on Wednesday.
Buying a ticket from a local newsagent was a fun, ritualistic experience that might involve banter with the person behind the counter, while The Lott's smartphone app just meant picking numbers from a grid and paying for them, Ms Somerville said.
