22 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 VANCOUVER WELCOMES THE LOTTERY WORLD TO CANADA AFTER FOUR-YEAR ABSENCE, WORLD LOTTERY SUMMIT RETURNS TO RAVE REVIEWS As World Lottery Association President Rebecca Paul closed the festivities at October’s World Lottery Seminar in Vancouver, you could almost hear a collective exhale from the hundreds of attendees gathered at the final dinner. It had been an exhilarating four days of meetings, educational sessions, trade show, and a bit of fun in the city. And by all accounts, the event was a rousing success. Attendees converged on Vancouver from all over the world for the first World Lottery Authority (WLA) meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a joint meeting of WLS and NASPL, which resulted in a fabulous attendance and exchange of ideas and lottery content plans. The conference was held at the Convention Center on the Vancouver waterfront, providing a beautiful vista for the week’s gathering. The program included a series of memorable keynote speeches and breakout sessions which focused on important lottery issues. (Executive Summaries to be in the January/February issue of this magazine). One of the highlights of the event was the trade show which featured more than two dozen companies displaying their products and services to attendees. Hospitality events and lunch buffets took place each day as well. Leading the business agenda was determining the leadership of the World Lottery Association for the next two years. Rebecca Paul has ably steered the group since 2018 and helped the WLA navigate the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging the importance of Rebecca’s leadership, the membership of the WLA voted to re-elect Rebecca as WLA President for another 2-year term. Other officers elected were: Senior Vice President: Andreas Kötter, Westdeutsche Lotterie GmbH & Co. OHG, Germany Vice President: Younes El Mechrafi, La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports, Morocco Committee members: Jannie Haek, Loterie Nationale, Belgium Francesco Parola, IGT, Italy Nigel Railton, Camelot Group PLC, United Kingdom Stéphane Pallez, Française des Jeux, France Dato’ Lawrence Lim Swee Lin, Magnum Corporation, Malaysia Silvio Vivas, Instituto Ayuda Financiera Accion Social, Argentina Stéphane Pallez took the stage to welcome us to Paris for the next World Lottery Summit in 2024. Other Lottery industry association annual trade-show cum conference events to be held in 2023 include: June 4 to7: EL Congress 2023 in Šibenik (Croatia) Oct. 30 to Nov. 2: NASPL’s Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Lynne Roiter honored with the Guy Simonis Lifetime Achievement Award The WLA introduced the Guy Simonis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 to recognize outstanding service and commitment to the lottery industry by an individual. The first recipient of the award was Guy Simonis himself. Guy was a major force in the industry and its spokesman as president of AILE, then Intertoto, and finally of the WLA. As a 36-year industry veteran, Lynne Roiter helped shape the lottery sector as we know it today. Her career, her achievements, and her dedication to the world lottery community have set a high standard for lottery professionals across the globe. Lynne Roiter joined Loto-Québec in 1985 as Director of Legal Affairs. With each step in Loto-Québec’s evolution, the legal needs of the company increased accordingly. In November 1996, Lynne was named Corporate Secretary and Vice President of Legal Affairs, heading a staff of 13 lawyers. By this time LotoQuébec had grown from a company of 400 people to over 5,000. Lynne Roiter was appointed President and CEO of Loto-Québec and member of the board in May 2017. With that, Lynne became the first woman to head one of Québec's three main provincial crown corporations. In fact, diversity has played an important role in the
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