Scientific Games launches new systems technology for Arizona Lottery
Scientific Games has launched new systems technology across the Arizona Lottery, upgrading its draw games portfolio with a new Powerball Double Play add-on offering prizes of up to $10 million.
The technology runs on Scientific Games’ Momentum platform, including a central gaming system and retailer management system used across the Lottery’s network.
Alec Thomson, Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery, said the changes “will give our players bigger value, more ways to play and even more chances to win.” Scientific Games also upgraded gem | suite, its software platform managing licensing, communications and business intelligence across the Lottery’s network of 3,600 retailers.
John Schulz, President, Americas & Global Instant Products at Scientific Games, said the company — the Lottery’s systems technology partner since 2015 — is focused on readying it for long-term sustainability “through advanced systems and software, and new products that engage players and drive proceeds to the programs that benefit Arizonans.”
Scientific Games has supplied the Arizona Lottery for 45 years, including Scratchers and licensed brands, and operates from a Phoenix office. The company serves 150 lotteries in 50 countries, describes itself as the world’s largest lottery games company and fastest-growing lottery systems provider, and is certified by the World Lottery Association as a Responsible Gaming Supplier.
The Arizona Lottery has generated more than $5.9 billion for state programs since 1981, funding higher education, economic development, environmental conservation and health and human service
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The Backstory
Arizona upgrade fits a broader modernization push
Scientific Games’ launch of new systems technology for the Arizona Lottery is the latest step in a wider lottery industry shift: replacing aging retail networks with platforms that can support digital growth, richer data analysis and faster product changes. For Arizona, the upgrade centers on the company’s Momentum platform, a central gaming system and retailer management tools deployed across a network of 3,600 retailers. It also brings Powerball Double Play to the state, giving players a second-chance add-on with prizes of up to $10 million.
The move matters because state lotteries increasingly rely on technology suppliers not just to process wagers but to manage the full operating environment behind draw games, instant products, retailer licensing, communications and performance analytics. In Arizona’s case, Scientific Games has been tied to the lottery for decades, supplying Scratchers, licensed brands and systems support. That long relationship gives the upgrade a continuity angle, but the stakes are forward-looking: The Arizona Lottery has generated more than $5.9 billion for state programs since 1981, and new systems are intended to protect and grow those contributions.
States are replacing legacy lottery infrastructure
Arizona is not an isolated case. Scientific Games has been positioning itself as a modernization partner for U.S. lotteries facing similar pressures. In May, the company signed a seven-year agreement with the Minnesota Lottery to replace legacy systems with a cloud-based platform supporting retail and digital operations. The deal, detailed in Scientific Games’ Minnesota Lottery system upgrade, includes new hardware at retail locations and tools for game management, retailer operations and data analysis.
The Minnesota agreement showed how lottery operators are framing systems procurement. State lotteries are seeking platforms that can improve performance and security while providing enough flexibility to add products and services over time. Minnesota officials said they wanted technology that would support responsible growth in contributions to public programs. Arizona’s deployment reflects the same rationale: A stronger central system can enable more ways to play, improve oversight of retail operations and support products designed to lift engagement without creating a stand-alone policy fight over new forms of gambling.
These upgrades also reflect a defensive imperative. Lottery networks are large, distributed and operationally sensitive. Retail terminals, central systems and reporting tools must work reliably across thousands of locations while complying with state controls. Legacy infrastructure can limit product launches, slow retailer management and make data less useful. By moving clients toward newer platforms, Scientific Games is tying state revenue ambitions to systems contracts that can last for years and often include extension options.
Digital leadership signals where lottery growth is heading
The Arizona rollout is primarily a systems and retail-network story, but it sits alongside Scientific Games’ expansion of its digital capabilities. The company recently added Keshav Pitani as senior vice president of digital games and Laura Higgins as vice president of customer service and strategy, a move covered in Scientific Games’ digital lottery team expansion. Their appointments signal that the supplier expects digital products, customer strategy and consumer-facing services to become more central to lottery contracts.
That matters for state lotteries even when online sales are limited or politically sensitive. Digital does not necessarily mean full internet lottery gaming. It can include loyalty programs, second-chance promotions, player education, mobile engagement, retailer support, marketing analytics and customer service. Systems such as those deployed in Arizona create the operational base for those programs by organizing transaction data, retailer information and communications across the network.
Scientific Games’ hiring also shows how lottery vendors are borrowing skills from consumer technology, e-commerce and gaming. Pitani’s background includes senior technology roles at Bally’s Technology and Light & Wonder, while Higgins has worked across e-commerce, general management, marketing and finance. The mix suggests a supplier strategy aimed at helping lotteries compete for attention in a marketplace crowded by sports betting, casino apps, social gaming and other entertainment products.
Instant games remain the company’s financial anchor
Even as systems and digital services receive more attention, instant products remain central to Scientific Games’ business. The retirement of Joe Bennett, the company’s vice president of U.S. operations for instant products, underscored the scale of that segment. As reported in Scientific Games’ U.S. instant products leadership transition, instant games account for more than 70 percent of the company’s sales.
That background is relevant to Arizona because lottery modernization is not only about draw games. Scratch tickets remain a major source of revenue for many state lotteries, and technology upgrades can help manage the broader product mix. Retailer systems, business intelligence and communications tools can support decisions about game launches, inventory, promotions and sales performance. In a retail lottery environment, the ability to coordinate instant and draw products through better data can affect proceeds as much as the introduction of a single new feature.
The leadership change also pointed to Scientific Games’ preference for internal succession in key operating roles. Bryan Murphy, previously director of finishing and logistics for the U.S., was named to replace Bennett. That continuity matters for lottery customers because instant ticket production and distribution require tight security, quality control and logistics. For states such as Arizona, which have long relied on Scientific Games for Scratchers and licensed brands, supplier stability is part of the value proposition.
Responsible gambling credentials support expansion
As lotteries add new products and improve access through retail and digital channels, responsible gambling standards have become a commercial and regulatory priority. Scientific Games has repeatedly leaned on its World Lottery Association credentials as it seeks contracts and launches products. In March, the company received WLA re-certification for responsible gambling alignment, covering its global operations as a technology provider.
The certification is more than reputational branding. State lotteries are public agencies or government-authorized operators whose proceeds fund education, environmental programs, health services and other public uses. Their political license depends on maintaining public trust. Suppliers that can show responsible gambling practices, player education tools and harm-minimization programs can strengthen their bids for systems work, especially as modernization creates more opportunities for player engagement.
Scientific Games launched its Healthy Play responsible gaming program in 2022, offering lotteries tools and technology to improve accountable play. That framework helps explain how the company presents upgrades such as Arizona’s: more products and richer engagement, paired with systems that are meant to support sustainability and public-interest returns. For Arizona, where lottery proceeds support higher education, economic development, environmental conservation and health and human services, the responsible-growth message is central to defending product expansion.
Global licensing broadens the competitive field
Scientific Games is also expanding in newly regulated markets outside the U.S. The company was recently licensed by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority as a gaming-related vendor in the United Arab Emirates, allowing it to supply lottery products and services. The development, described in Scientific Games’ vendor licensing in the United Arab Emirates, places the company inside a market building a federal commercial gaming framework covering lottery, internet gaming, sports wagering and land-based facilities.
That international licensing reinforces the same themes visible in Arizona: regulated growth, modern systems and responsible practices. The UAE regulator was established in 2023 with a mandate emphasizing fairness, transparency, integrity, innovation and responsible practices. For Scientific Games, approval in such a market supports its claim that it can operate across diverse regulatory environments while offering both retail and digital lottery services.
The company now serves 150 lotteries in 50 countries, giving it scale that can be attractive to state customers but also increasing expectations. Lottery agencies want vendors that can process high-volume transactions, secure public revenue systems, introduce products quickly and withstand scrutiny over responsible gambling. Arizona’s new technology launch is therefore part of a larger supplier strategy: use long-standing lottery relationships, modern platforms, digital expertise and compliance credentials to secure a central role in the next generation of lottery operations.
