Scientific Games Taps E-Commerce AI Guru to Reinvent Global Lottery

ATLANTA, GA – February 02, 2026 – Scientific Games, a global leader in the lottery industry, has signaled a major acceleration of its technology-first strategy with the appointment of Ovie Doro as its new Senior Vice President of Data, Analytics & AI. The move brings a top-tier data science leader with a deep background in consumer e-commerce and global retail giants like Walmart, Jet.com, and AB InBev into the heart of the lottery world, a clear indication of the company's ambition to redefine player experiences through advanced analytics.

Doro's appointment is a strategic play to infuse the lottery sector with the sophisticated, data-driven personalization and optimization techniques that have become standard in modern retail and e-commerce. He is tasked with leading the expansion of the SG Analytics group, the company's enterprise analytics practice, aiming to transform vast datasets into actionable insights that drive growth and innovation across its global lottery business.

A Strategic Bet on Consumer Expertise

The decision to bring in a leader from outside the traditional gaming industry is a calculated one. Doro has over a decade of experience architecting and scaling enterprise analytics and machine learning platforms for some of the world's largest consumer-facing companies. Most recently, as Senior Global Director of Data Science & Machine Learning Engineering at AB InBev, he pioneered the AI strategy for the company's global B2B e-commerce platform, transforming it into an AI-driven ecosystem that boosted revenue across international markets.

His tenure at Walmart and Jet.com placed him at the forefront of customer analytics, personalization, and lifecycle modeling. There, he led teams focused on turning academic research into production-grade machine learning systems that directly supported customer growth, retention, and omnichannel engagement—skills that are now directly aimed at the lottery industry.

This background is precisely what Scientific Games is betting on. The company is looking to Doro to apply his deep understanding of consumer behavior to its lottery products. The goal is to create more engaging, personalized experiences for players, whether they are buying a ticket at a retail counter or playing a digital game on their phone.

"Advanced analytics is critical to how Scientific Games supports our lottery customers and drives innovation and performance for sustainable growth," said Pat McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games, in a statement. "Doro brings deep experience understanding consumer behavior and building scalable analytics and data science capabilities at global organizations, and we're excited to have him lead this mission-critical work."

Accelerating an AI-Powered Future

While Doro's arrival marks a significant new chapter, it builds upon a foundation Scientific Games has been actively constructing. The company is not starting its AI journey from scratch but is instead looking to supercharge its existing efforts. A prime example is its AI-powered product recommendation engine, GameChoice, which launched in 2025.

Deployed in nearly 10,000 self-service lottery vending machines for a major U.S. lottery, GameChoice demonstrated the immense potential of AI in the retail environment. The engine delivered personalized game recommendations to players, resulting in a significant increase in cross-portfolio game purchases. In its first month alone, the initiative was credited with generating approximately $9.8 million in additional retail sales, with an estimated annual revenue impact of over $100 million for that single lottery partner.

This proven success provides a powerful case study for the strategy Doro is now tasked with scaling globally. His mandate involves advancing SG Analytics by translating data into action across market intelligence, ROI modeling, data engineering, and machine learning. Reporting to Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer Carrie Galvin, he is expected to be a central figure in driving analytics-based product growth and optimizing the connection between retail and digital play.

"Doro's appointment strengthens our ability to translate data into action and value for our customers," Galvin stated. "His experience building analytics capabilities that deliver real-world business outcomes will help us better serve lotteries through smarter products and performance insights."

Redefining Growth and Social Impact

The push for a more data-centric lottery experience extends beyond corporate profits and into the core mission of the industry itself. Lotteries worldwide are government-sponsored entities designed to generate revenue for public good, funding everything from education and healthcare to environmental conservation. By optimizing game performance and increasing player engagement, Scientific Games aims to maximize the returns to these crucial beneficiary programs.

The integration of sophisticated AI, however, also brings a heightened sense of responsibility. The same tools used to personalize marketing and drive sales can and must be used to promote healthy play. A key trend across the gaming industry is the use of AI to identify patterns of at-risk behavior, allowing for proactive interventions and the promotion of responsible gaming tools. Doro's work will inevitably involve navigating this dual mandate: driving growth while simultaneously enhancing player protection and upholding public trust.

As Doro, who holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, steps into his new role, he faces the challenge of applying the fast-paced, consumer-driven logic of e-commerce to the highly regulated, public-facing world of the lottery. The industry will be watching closely to see how this fusion of expertise shapes the future of play, seeking to deliver not only more engaging games but also greater and more sustainable support for the communities that lotteries are designed to serve.