Skilrock CEO Sujit Lahiry Calls for Outcome-Led Innovation to Address Lottery Industry Challenges

Sujit Lahiry, Executive Director and CEO of Skilrock Technologies, urged the global lottery and gaming sector to shift from technology-led to outcome-led innovation. In an interview with Yogonet International at the World Lottery Summit in Sydney, themed "United in Purpose: Driving Change, Building Resilience," Lahiry detailed interconnected pressures from accelerating technological change, evolving consumer demands, sophisticated illegal operators, and cybersecurity risks.

Public trust hinges on operational resilience that extends beyond business continuity to encompass adaptation to disruptive technologies, shifting behaviors, and balanced operations across channels. Markets vary widely in development stage, AI adoption, cloud infrastructure, and digital integration, requiring tailored strategies rather than uniform approaches.

Prioritizing Measurable Outcomes in AI Adoption

Lahiry noted that AI now delivers real operational impact with affordable adoption costs. "I believe we should move away from technology-led innovation towards outcome-led innovation," he stated. Operators must first define goals previously unattainable, then apply AI to achieve them, rather than starting with available tools.

Key areas include player engagement, risk management, security, fraud prevention, and business intelligence to modernize legacy systems incrementally. Complete infrastructure replacement is often impractical; step-by-step enhancements suffice. This focus drives tangible improvements in efficiency and capabilities.

Risks in Licensing Models and the Push for Stakeholder Collaboration

A core limitation lies in regulatory design. Monopolies ease oversight but can reduce operator efficiency and innovation, sometimes enabling offshore illegal entry. Excessive competition creates other distortions. Lahiry advocated balance, informed by historical data and public expectations, with well-controlled competitive licensing best suited for digital sports betting versus infrastructure-heavy land-based operations.

Responsible gaming demands proactive AI use to block underage access via robust onboarding and to flag patterns such as 1 a.m. gambling sessions or loss chasing. True omnichannel integration connects data, players, and frameworks so a $100 weekly limit applies uniformly across retail, digital, and self-service, unlike siloed multichannel setups.

Tackling illegal gambling requires prevention over enforcement alone. "Prevention is better than cure," Lahiry said, calling for data-driven cooperation among regulators, operators, technology providers, payment firms, and law enforcement. Technology development has under-served regulators' needs for identifying platforms, analyzing root causes tied to taxation or restrictions, and enabling targeted action.

The World Lottery Association's standards on security, responsible gaming, and sports integrity remain central to these efforts.