What happens when a higher-frequency lottery game gains a new digital way for distribution through allowing customers a way to order tickets using an app? Early results from Keno available through Jackpocket’s courier platform offer a compelling answer: it can attract new customers, re-engage existing ones and generate meaningful sales even when jackpot headlines are quiet.
In states where Keno has been available for more than six months, it already accounts for 16% to 28% of total Jackpocket sales in that state. Even more notably, 35% of first-time Keno customers were entirely new to Jackpocket.
Those findings illustrate the opportunity behind Jackpocket’s expansion of Keno, now available in Massachusetts, Oregon, Puerto Rico and Ohio. Through distribution across both the standalone Jackpocket app and the Jackpocket experience within the DraftKings app, this retail game can be easier for customers to discover and access while generating incremental retail sales for state lotteries.
Lesson One: Digital Distribution Can Create Meaningful Sales
Convenience matters. Consumers increasingly expect to discover and access lottery games through the digital platforms they already use, and Keno should be part of that experience.
Keno provides eligible customers with another convenient way to order a ticket for an official lottery game. Each order is fulfilled through a licensed lottery retailer in the customer’s state, so expanding digital access directly supports retail sales while helping lotteries build awareness and reach customers in more moments throughout their day.
Keno’s 16% to 28% share of Jackpocket sales in established jurisdictions demonstrates that the convenience of digital distribution is translating into meaningful adoption. Its higher-frequency format, which allows customers to order tickets throughout the day, can also help with engagement in lottery games during periods when large draw-game jackpots are not commanding widespread attention.
Lesson Two: One Offering, Two Growth Opportunities
Keno through the Jackpocket platform replicates the core retail experience in a convenient digital format. Customers choose their dollar amount, select how many numbers, or “spots”, to play, add available multiplier features and decide how many drawings to enter. Once an order is placed, Jackpocket fulfills that order and purchases tickets on the customer’s behalf at a licensed lottery retailer, usually within minutes of the customer’s order due to Jackpocket’s optimized retail fulfillment process. After the drawing occurs, scanned images of the customer’s tickets are uploaded to the customer and then the customer is notified their tickets can be revealed in the app.
The experience continues with an immersive digital Keno reveal that lets customers watch the numbers come in from home, mirroring the excitement of the real-world game. Together, the flexible ticket builder, rapid fulfillment and digital reveal create an end-to-end journey.
The result? The introduction of Keno is performing two important jobs at once: acquiring new customers and giving existing customers another reason to stay engaged.
Among first-time Keno customers over the past six months, 35% were entirely new to Jackpocket, making the game a meaningful acquisition tool. At the same time, 42% came from a strong base of existing draw and scratch-game customers, highlighting the role game variety can play in retention.
Customers do not necessarily want the same experience every time they visit. A broader portfolio gives them more reasons to stay connected, explore something new and continue participating in lottery over time.
Lesson Three: Keno Benefits the Entire Portfolio
Keno’s higher-frequency format gives customers another reason to return, and each return visit has value beyond the individual Keno order. Every app visit creates another opportunity for the customer to order and engage with lottery games.
A customer may open Jackpocket for Keno, but that does not have to be where the visit ends. During the same session, that customer can discover a growing jackpot, explore a scratch game, see a promotion or learn about a new game.
The weekly engagement data demonstrates the power of that broader portfolio. Jackpocket customers who engage with draw, scratch and Keno average 4.57 session days per week, 73% more than the 2.64 days averaged by customers who engage with only one offering.
That creates a valuable loop: Keno may prompt the visit, but that visit creates opportunities for discovery and discovery provides more reasons to return. Rather than relying solely on marketing to bring customers back, the portfolio itself can help sustain engagement.
What We’re Watching Next: More Ways In, More Opportunities to Grow
Keno is being discovered through both the standalone Jackpocket app and Jackpocket experience within the DraftKings platform, and the role that access within DraftKings plays is striking.
Having Jackpocket accessible directly within the DraftKings app is proving especially effective at acquiring new lottery customers. Among customers who were new to Jackpocket and made Keno their first order, 78% were acquired through the experience within the DraftKings app, making the DraftKings app the leading acquisition channel for new Keno customers and demonstrates the value of permitting digital ordering of lottery offerings to an active digital audience.
Together, the two access points allow lotteries to benefit from Jackpocket’s established lottery audience while also introducing lottery offerings to customers across the broader DraftKings ecosystem. The ability to order lottery games within DraftKings’ highly rated app can help expand awareness, while meeting customers where they already spend time and create additional on-ramps for acquisition.
Distribution Matters
The early lesson is straightforward: distribution matters.
Across four jurisdictions, Keno is supporting retail lottery sales, contributing during lower-jackpot periods, attracting new customers and giving existing customers more reasons to return.
But the larger takeaway extends beyond the insights of Jackpocket’s Keno expansion. It is about what becomes possible when game variety is combined with modern distribution strategies.
GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY).
18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Jackpocket is a lottery courier and not affiliated with any state lottery. Keno only available in Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon, and Puerto Rico. Eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Keno subject to availability. Terms apply: jackpocket.com/tos