4826_commission_meeting_minutes_-_draft_2.pdf

Page 1 Minutes for the Colorado Lottery Commission Call to Order A Commission Meeting for the Colorado Lottery was held on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, online via Google Meet. The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. and was presided over by Chairman Podolski. Attendees In attendance were the following: Stan Podolski, Chairman Lauren Back, Lottery Bill Clayton, Vice Chairman Margarita Cuellar, Lottery Christian Reece, Commissioner Marie Valtakis, Lottery Janelle Quick, Commissioner Mike Strasser, Lottery Michael Shea, Commissioner Meghan Dougherty, Lottery Tom Seaver, Senior Director Rhea Phaneuf, Lottery David Aldag, Deputy Director Sara Abeyta, Lottery Adrian Varney, Lottery Scott Chavkin, Lottery Alanna Burns, Lottery Terri Geier, Lottery Amanda Quintana, Lottery Tiffany Ramsdell, Lottery Angel Ramos, Lottery Tom Campbell, Lottery Brian Kohnlein, Lottery Wendy Weldon, Lottery Bridget Rader, Lottery Torrey Samson, Attorney General’s Office Cristi Gannon, Lottery Adriana Artega, Brightstar Diana Padilla-Morales, Lottery Ana Rios Salgado, Brightstar Elizabeth Kosar, Lottery Dwayne Wilson, Brightstar Erin Garcia, Lottery Evan Monteith, Cactus Giana Giraldi, Lottery Madelaine Shipley, Cactus Jay Sisson, Lottery Dustin Hoover, DOR Jeanette Casso-Linan, Lottery Kristi Piazza, DOR Jeff Adams, Lottery Christy Reeves, GOCO Jenna Cordova, Lottery Mark Basedow, Lotto.com Joanna Guadron, Lottery Jamie Glick, PGCC Kasandra Gutierrez, Lottery Jillian Cummiskey, Scientific Games Kelia Busby, Lottery Meghan Kiss, Scientific Games Kim Trujillo, Lottery Luke Reinen, Member of the Public Introductions and Welcome Page 2 Chairman Podolski welcomed everyone and conducted roll call of all the Commissioners. Chairman Podolski, Vice Chair Clayton, Commissioner Reece, Commissioner Quick, and Commissioner Shea were all present. He then stated that all other attendees would be noted in the official meeting minutes. Approval of Minutes Chairman Podolski called for any updates to the March 11, 2026, Lottery Commission meeting minutes. Seeing none, Vice Chair Clayton motioned to approve the March meeting minutes, which Commissioner Shea seconded. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0. Public Comment Chairman Podolski called for any public comment. There was no public comment. SGEP Update Jillian Cummiskey, from Scientific Games, started with updates on recruiting. She noted that they have three retailers pending installation, twelve retailers who have received installs in the last 30 days, and six awaiting retailer IDs from the licensing team. They licensed 17 new retailers in Q1 of 2026, which is double the number of retailers licensed in Q1 of 2025. Ms. Cummiskey also provided an update on Walgreens and how the Colorado Lottery will continue to move forward in the process of this partnership. Scientific Games is also conducting a robust sales forecast with their analyst, VJ, and Tom Campbell’s team. This is to help project Walgreens’ sales performance across the state, utilizing data on the chain’s current store sales to optimize resources. Additionally, they are working on a calendar-year 27 portfolio strategy, focusing on strategically leveraging licensed properties to maximize future sales growth. Brightstar Update Dwayne Wilson from Brightstar announced the addition of Adriana Artega as their new Senior Manager of Business Development, who began on Monday and will be formally introduced to the Lottery Management team next week. He also noted that Adriana will seek opportunities to meet all the Commissioners, potentially at the May in-person commission meeting. Mr. Wilson then provided an update on Walgreens, noting that installations are beginning near the Walgreens headquarters with the Hoosier Lottery working directly with Walgreens leadership on mock installations and store modifications to accommodate lottery equipment. The very first Walgreens installation began selling tickets on Monday in Indianapolis, allowing the Hoosier Lottery to test systems and the internal job aid guide that Walgreens created for its staff on how to handle Lottery inventory and sales. Tom Campbell, the Director of Sales for the Lottery, confirmed that the ball is rolling on the Colorado Walgreens integration, with discussions focusing on ticket display, the number of games carried at the counter, and vending options. The plan is to implement both vending and counter sales at each Walgreens location, similar to the existing setup in supermarkets. Page 3 Spotlight Segment Lauren Back, the Advertising Manager for the Lottery, reported that the Multiplier scratch game was launched on the 30th, with the advertising campaign starting this week. The commercial was shown and positively received by the Commissioners. Decision Items Tiffany Ramsdell, the Scratch Product Manager for the Lottery, presented two decision items requiring Commission approval: ● Game 421, $3 Winning Country, with three top prizes of $30,000. This game is anticipated to launch on June 22nd. ● Game 423, $10 Colorado Gold Rush, with two top prizes of $250,000. This game is anticipated to launch on June 22nd. Vice Chair Clayton made a motion to approve the decision items as presented, which was seconded by Chairman Podolski. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0. Approval of Scratch Game Guidelines Ms. Ramsdell presented the Scratch Game Guidelines as follows, noting that the games presented are eligible for the monthly $100,000 Second Chance Bonus Draw. ● Game 421, with a price point of $3, has a 63% payout and overall odds of 1 in 3.57. ● Game 423, with a price point of $10, has a 71% payout and overall odds of 1 in 3.52. Commissioner Quick moved to approve the Scratch Game Guidelines as presented, which was seconded by Commissioner Reece. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0. Scratch Game Performance Ms. Ramsdell then presented the following update on scratch game performance. Scratch sales for the month of March totaled just over $54.1 million, an increase of $13,000 from the prior year monthly performance figures. Scratch sales are tracking ahead about $5.5 million of where they need to be to hit the $611 million goal in FY26. All price points are tracking ahead of prior year sales except for the $1, $2, and $3 price points. Six new games launched on March 30, which did not have a significant effect on March sales total. We will see the sales benefit from those games more in April. The launch was a Multiplier play style and consisted of $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, and $20 price points. Jackpot Game Performance Jay Sisson, the Jackpot Manager for the Lottery, informed the Commission that overall jackpot game sales for March were $17.7 million, which was an increase of $1.3 million (7.5%) compared to the month of February. March 2026 is down $4.1 million compared to March 2025. Mr. Sisson explained that the reason for this is the large jackpots during March 2025, whereas this March, Powerball, Mega Millions, and Colorado Lotto+ were all hit two times in a month, which is good for players, but negatively impacts sales. Page 4 Mr. Sisson also reported on the new Millionaire for Life game. Millionaire for Life has sold about $4.9 million in its first six weeks, which is up $2.4 million (96%) compared to the sales of Lucky for Life during the same period last year. Year-to-date projections are as follows: Powerball is up $31.5 million, Mega Millions is down $3.3 million, Colorado Lotto+ is down $9.1 million, Millionaire for Life is up $1.7 million, Cash 5 is up $220,000, and Pick 3 is up $32,000. Overall, the Lottery is up about $20.8 million (10%), a drop from last month due to all the jackpots that were hit. FY26 Projected Sales, Expenses, and Disbursements Update David Aldag, the Deputy Director, had Tom Campbell give a brief overview of the process for tickets moving from the warehouse to retail, and the goals they have aligned with it. Mr. Aldag then took the time to introduce Kristi Piazza, the new budget manager for the Lottery from DOR. Ms. Piazza and Mr. Aldag will collaborate closely on monthly reporting and ongoing projections for sales and vendor fees. He also offered cautious optimism regarding year-end projections, noting that the Lottery is on pace to meet the GOCO cap and the $3 million minimum for the Outdoor Equity Fund. Sales projections for the rest of the year are expected to be exceeded by the strong performance of Millionaire for Life, which has provided a significant boost. Information Items, Director’s Report ● National Games Update Mr. Seaver updated the Commissioners on national games, noting that the price change of Mega Millions to $5 has not achieved the same intended goal of faster, bigger jackpots. The leadership of the Mega Millions Consortium is now actively seeking recommendations to improve the game’s performance, which is expected to result in an upcoming game change. Millionaire for Life currently has 31 lotteries selling it and is performing well, with the expectation that more lotteries will join due to its success. The new national game, Powerball X’s and O’s (a partnership with the NFL), is set to launch in September, but the Colorado Lottery will not be among the initial participating states, as it determined its prize structure would compete directly with Colorado Lotto+. ● Problem Gambling Awareness Month Amanda Quintana, the Player Health Manager for the Lottery, provided a recap of the PGAM in March, reporting that the player health posts on Instagram and Facebook exceeded the general average benchmarks for organic engagement. The PGAM video, part of the paid campaign, has generated over 456,000 views on YouTube in the last four weeks, successfully raising awareness about gambling harm. The click-through action for the PGAM campaign assets led players to the Positive Play Quiz, which was added to the “Know your Limits” page in August, and has since had over 3,700 completions. The Player Health Program is planned for FY27 and beyond, with growth and core integration across Lottery operations in mind, recognizing that player health Page 5 has become a core and effective engagement method rather than a niche effort. Ms. Quintana explained that messaging will continue to focus on increasing gambling literacy. Also, during PGAM, she presented at the GOCO Spring Board Meeting, showcasing the player health program work. Ms. Quintana shared a new video that discusses how odds work, emphasizing that they are based on the total number of tickets for sale, not an individual purchase. This video concludes with an action step, encouraging players to take the positive play quiz. Lastly, she gave an overview of the Greo research in which the Lottery is participating. ● Report on Georgia Trip Erin Garcia, the Controller for the Lottery, reported on her trip to Alpharetta, Georgia, with three other Colorado Lottery employees. They learned about IT security, conducted a plant tour, and participated in a game audit with Scientific Games. Highlights included the plant tour, which demonstrated the size, scale, detail, and high level of security involved in producing scratch games. ● Social Media Update Kelia Busby, the Player Communication Specialist, shared updates for social media, noting work on organic branding, including spruced-up graphics for jackpot wins and lower-level winners. New lifestyle posts for Colorado Lotto+ feature the tagline, “Play like a local, win like one too,” reflecting the goal of promoting the game after having created approximately eight millionaires in the last fiscal year. Lifestyle Responsible Gambling Assets are being used to ensure continuous promotion alongside the Responsible Gaming video content. Monthly second-chance drawing reminders are posted to keep entries strong, encouraging players not to throw out non-winning tickets. Prompt engagement posts, such as asking players what they would do if they won, have been successful in positively connecting with players and promoting games with links to the second chance drawings. ● Proceeds Update Adrian Varney, the Proceeds Manager for the Lottery, reported on the Starburst Awards program, noting a record-breaking year with 33 projects considered, up from 21 the previous year, demonstrating the program’s growing popularity. A record 18 winners were selected this year, therefore achieving the goal of greater geographic diversity, with recipients spread throughout the state. The awards cycle kicks off in the fall, with internal review and final decisions made in late March, followed by notifying the participants. The communications team created proactive assets for the Starburst Award winners, which will be shared with partners for posting on their websites and social media channels. Mr. Seaver commented that these awards are valuable for creating awareness and ensuring that people understand the connection between playing the Lottery and the funding that supports these community projects. Page 6 Commission Items Commissioner Quick referenced her recent attendance at the Palmer Land Conservancy with Lottery staff, and commended the work that is being done in conservancy. The Commissioners asked if a date for the following month’s in-person meeting had been selected. The meeting date and location were confirmed, noting that a more detailed email would be sent as a follow- up. There was also a brief comment from Chairman Podolski on the SB26-117, asking if there were any further updates or comments about that. Vice Chair Clayton agreed with his comments, and there were no further updates on this topic. The Lottery staff does not comment on pending legislation. Adjournment Chairman Podolski motioned to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Vice Chair Clayton. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0, and Chairman Podolski closed the meeting at 9:53 a.m. Completed by: Alanna Burns Date of Approval: