Is it worth lotteries joining the competition in the sports betting market? There are plenty of examples of lottery companies making a success of sports betting, even though they do not have a monopoly in that vertical.
For example, in Europe, Greece's OPAP and France's La Française des Jeux (FDJ) are among the biggest players in their respective sportsbook markets. Nordic lotteries also enjoy a significant share of their countries' sports betting market, as do state lottery companies in Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
In principle, lotteries can be successful in competitive markets. Success, however, requires solutions that differentiate an operator from the competition and you cannot be particularly successful by offering the same product as others.
In addition, lotteries cannot compete on price by tweaking payout percentages, meaning their products are traditionally weaker than those on offer elsewhere in the market. This is hardly a good starting point for success.