WestLotto Hopes to Get Lucky With BLE Technology

German lottery operator Westdeutsche Lotterie (WestLotto) is piloting a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon solution to attract consumers into 60 outlets at which they can buy lottery tickets. The system, provided by Berlin-based technology company Sensorberg, delivers coupons and other location-based content to WestLotto app users, and then tracks whether those individuals enter stores and make purchases based on those offers.

The solution has been in place in the Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund areas since April 2016, and WestLotto is reviewing data to identify how many people who had downloaded the app responded to its messages by entering a participating shop. The system also includes the use of QR codes to identify how many of those who entered a store actually redeemed offers at the point of sale, by scanning the offers' QR codes.

When a WestLotto app user nears one of the 60 stores participating in the beacon pilot, a promotional offer is displayed.

Sensorberg was launched in 2013. In early 2014, the firm was part of the Microsoft Accelerator initiative, and it has developed a cross-platform solution that runs not only on iOS and Android devices, but also those using Windows 10. This allows the Sensorberg solution to operate not just with iOS and Android devices, but mobile processors as well, including Raspberry Pi and Qualcomm's Snapdragon.

The company offers solutions using beacons to identify a smartphone's location at retail stores, trade fairs and banks, and to send content to an app running on that mobile device, according to Alexander Oelling, Sensorberg's CEO. "We provide the software for beacon and IOT networks," he says, noting that the software enables Sensorberg's customers to create advertising campaigns or collect business analytics.