By Spurrier Group
We have all experienced it. We go to conferences, listen to keynotes about artificial intelligence (AI), sit through “breakthrough” sessions about the future—and then go back to our offices and find that not much has changed.
The hype is loud. We hear that “everyone is using AI,” that entire departments will be automated, that strategy will be pushed to machines. The reality is quieter and more nuanced. While there is anxiety about AI “taking white-collar jobs,” in practice we see it mostly used for specific, well-defined tasks inside roles, not as a replacement for entire job titles. Most real work is still being done by people.
For state lotteries, the adoption is even slower. Some jurisdictions are banning the use of AI outright. Others are embracing and encouraging it. Most are somewhere in the middle, curious but cautious. It still feels like uncharted territory.
At Spurrier Group, we have chosen to treat AI not as a magic button, but as a powerful assistive tool—especially for understanding lottery players. Some of the most valuable uses are not flashy: organizing data, spotting patterns, and helping us ask better questions.
To do this safely, Spurrier Group has invested in a closed-loop, private AI platform. Client data is never shared on the open web, but we can fully leverage AI’s power to analyze inputs and respond in real time. Built on top of a foundation of custom research and real player data, we create synthetic audience personas that can “talk back” with surprising accuracy—they have matched live focus group results at an average of 98%. We call this platform Brava (spurriergroup.com/lottery).
These synthetic “players” give directors, marketers, and creative partners a fast, low-risk way to explore questions before committing budget to production. Here are examples of how those chats with synthetic players are already informing lottery decisions.
Chris—the Gamer & iLottery Explorer
This player spreads his entertainment broadly, with about 20–25 hours a week across streaming, gaming, social media, and podcasts. iLottery accounts for only 2–3 of those hours, roughly 10 percent of his entertainment time. It is never his main source of entertainment, and it sits alongside Netflix, console games, and YouTube. Many iLottery states want to know how they can earn more of his play time.
Q: “You’ve said iLottery is only about 10% of your entertainment time, with the rest going to streaming and games. If we wanted to win another 5–10% of your time from those other activities, what would we actually need to change?”
A: “To take time from Netflix or light gaming, iLottery needs to feel less like a noisy casino and more like another entertainment channel I already enjoy during my evening down-time, because I am not your “traditional lottery player” – but I could become one! Three things would move the needle for me: a clear, opt in mode with calmer visuals, softer sound, slower pacing, so I can play alongside a comfort show without feeling bombarded; games with light story progression that carry over between short sessions so I’ll want to come back for more; and stronger in product safeguards that are visible, like time reminders. If I trust the app, I’m more willing to give it a bigger share of my time.”
Why this matters:
Chris shows that small, experience-level changes can earn a larger share of digital entertainment time without bigger media budgets. Creative and product teams can position iLottery as a low-pressure, trustworthy entertainment source, and then build campaigns around those specific features to drive acquisition, retention, and online sales from this younger persuadable audience.
Ryan—the Sports Fan & Jackpot Surger
This persona is a classic big-jackpot player. In a typical week he spends 25–35 hours on entertainment: streaming, gaming, social media, sports, podcasts, and going out. In a normal week with no headlines, the lottery gets 0% of that time. The goal for most state Lotteries is to increase his revenue share sooner in the jackpot window, and more efficiently extend his play once the jackpot is high.
Q: “You’ve said iLottery is only about 10% of your entertainment time, with the rest going to streaming and games. If we wanted to win another 5–10% of your time from those other activities, what would we actually need to change?”
A: “In surge weeks, you’re not just competing with other games, you’re competing with big, shared events in my media diet. What would win more of my time is treating a huge jackpot like a real event, not just a bigger number. That means: building a watch party vibe around the draw, with live streams and human stories I can follow like a playoff run; making group play effortless and transparent in the app so office pools and family tickets are easy to organize and trust; and giving me smart, responsible guardrails so it feels like a fun national daydream, not a financial strategy. Do that, and I’d happily trade some time from sports talk and aspirational YouTube to lean into those big jackpot moments.”
Why this matters:
Ryan confirms that “big jackpot” players are drawn to shared experiences more than to the number itself. For advertisers, this points to creative and media strategies that frame large jackpots as event programming: using live or social content, easy group-play tools, and human-interest storytelling around the draw. That approach can increase engagement in surge weeks and extend his lottery interest (and play!), helping to grow the jackpot faster.
Together, these conversations illustrate the real promise of AI for lotteries: giving your marketers and creative teams a faster, safer way to listen, test, and refine before taking big swings and wasting funds. Demonstrating this hybrid intelligence approach turns vague “AI hype” into concrete guidance on product features, creative direction, and media strategy for lottery advertisers. That means more confident decisions, better alignment with evolving player needs, and a clearer path to increase play with current Lottery enthusiasts and new persuadable audiences alike: ultimately increasing play, players, and revenue.