INTRALOT, Inc. CEO Byron Boothe Charts Ambitious Course

In June 2020, INTRALOT S.A. named Byron Boothe as Chief Executive Officer of INTRALOT, Inc. He assumes day-today leadership and will continue serving as a Member of the Board. Boothe, a lottery industry veteran, has served as Interim CEO of the Company since 2019.

La Fleur’s Magazine Co-Publisher Terri Markle (virtually) sat down with Boothe to interview him on short as well as long-term growth plans for INTRALOT, Inc.

Boothe’s initiation in the lottery business dates back to the 1990s. He joined INTRALOT in March 2007 as Vice President Government Relations. Working with multiple lottery clients helped him to establish relationships that now will define his role in guiding INTRALOT’s U.S.-based subsidiary.

This is a tumultuous year and the pandemic has wreaked havoc on governments, corporations, and individuals around the globe. Governments seek funding to support existing as well as new projects.

Main Mission
“INTRALOT’s main mission remains to offer an unparalleled gaming experience to players while supporting lotteries around the nation to raise funds for good causes,” stressed Boothe. “As the new CEO for INTRALOT USA, my mission is to drive growth in a responsible way by introducing innovation as well as continue improving the quality of our services.”

Boothe is optimistic that state legislators will approve new forms of gaming, such as sports betting and iLottery, for U.S. lotteries.

“At INTRALOT—and in contrast to our competitors—our focus has always been and remains on the lottery industry. I strongly believe that the U.S. lotteries have some great opportunities ahead of them. In this current climate, the legislators are now open to hearing out and agreeing on more innovate solutions that can drive real sales growth by introducing new game concepts as well as new play channels.”

Boothe identified four main areas of growth for its U.S. lottery clients: Sports betting, iLottery, Keno, and further growth of Fast Play games with new play styles and new price points.

Personal Goals
Boothe’s personal goals for the next couple of years are to “further support our existing partners by introducing new game content that fits with their existing portfolio/legislation restrictions while also focusing on operational excellence; build on our digital products and help lotteries move towards iLottery and an overall digital transformation; and help lotteries around the nation launch sports betting.”

He lights up when he talks about the opportunities for U.S. lotteries to expand their product portfolio and entertainment options through sports betting.

“Sports betting is a great fit for lotteries. Not only do lotteries have the brand awareness and trust needed for players to feel comfortable with their offering, but most importantly lotteries already have an stablished retail network that can be utilized to further enhance the player experience while making it easy for player to participate no matter how experienced they are with sports betting overall,” said Boothe.

The interview then veered into an in-depth discussion on INTRALOT’s two new sports betting startups launched in 2020 during the pandemic.

GambetDC—the sports betting platform powered by the Office of Lottery Gaming (OLG)—went live in DC with a soft launch on May 28, 2020.

“INTRALOT, as part of its current contract with the DC Lottery, deployed its new INTRALOT Orion sports betting platform to enable the GambetDC mobile and desktop sports betting offering. In addition to the technology, INTRALOT provides the DC Lottery with a complete suite of supporting sports betting services, such as Managed Trading Services, Marketing Services, and Customer Support,” explained Boothe.

“The players can access the platform via both iOS and Android native applications as well as via their desktop. They place their wagers quickly and with ease and have access to a wide assortment of betting markets as well as different wager options including singlegame, parlay, in-game and proposition bets. Moreover, GambetDC is available throughout the District to players aged 18 or older, except for the federal enclaves and within the two-block zones surrounding the District’s four major sports arenas.

“We are also excited that INTRALOT together with OLG will also deploy a retail Sports Betting program in 2021,” added Boothe.

The Montana Lottery soft launched its “Sports Bet Montana” in May 2020. “It has been a very exciting process to get us where we are today,” explained Boothe. “The Montana Lottery has been working toward launching sports betting since 2019, when a bill bringing sports wagering to Montana and placing it with the Lottery was passed into law. INTRALOT deployed in Montana its new INTRALOT Orion sports betting platform to enable players to wager through self-service terminals and through their mobile devices. In addition, INTRALOT provides to the Montana Lottery a complete suite of services, such as Managed Trading, Marketing Services and Customer Support.”