CLAIMS TO FAME
- Has turned once struggling Taiwan Sports Lottery into hugely profitable venture
While still well behind the Taiwanese government’s Welfare Lottery venture in terms of revenue, Taiwan Sports Lottery Co has been surging in terms of total sales and beating forecasts, gaining 29.1% to NT$60.2 billion (US$1.9 billion) in 2022.
CEO Ted Lin is about to start his second decade as Sports Lottery boss, and if it is anything like his first decade, the Sports Lottery can dream of emulating the experience of China’s lottery industry. The latter saw successive FIFA World Cup sports betting products blast the Sports Lottery into the stratosphere, overtaking the Welfare Lottery before dominating it to this day.
There is a more level playing field between the Welfare and Sports lotteries in Taiwan thanks to political stability, international input and the legalization of online betting for both segments. But Lin has also made his mark as an innovator in lottery and betting products – for example, international eSports tournaments are legal to bet on in Taiwan, unlike anywhere else in Asia.
Lin has introduced the “Sports Lottery 2.0” label to revamp and extend betting products in 2024. All evidence points to more years of growth and the Sports Lottery protecting its enviable tripling of China’s per capita spend on counterpart Sports Lottery products in 2022.
For the full list of 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.