Research studies have shown that lottery games are not appealing to younger audiences raised on digital games. Even as they grow out of their ‘20s and into the age when previous generations discovered the fun of playing the lottery.
“Many marketeers believe that new game styles, new promotional strategies, and new distribution platforms will be required to attract the next generation of players, the first generation of ‘digital natives’ who were playing digital games on mobile devices before they could talk,” said Art Kiuttu, SVP Lottery & Gaming of Lazlo326.
Barriers to play with younger audiences have shown they prefer choice, engagement and offerings that are more relevant to their lifestyle and they want content delivered on their mobile devices.
“Studies have identified several consumer issues ranging from confusion and intimidation with the broad variety and complexity of game offerings to the lack of engagement from lottery games. Younger audiences also believe lottery is something their parents and grandparents do,” said Kiuttu.
It is estimated that more than 95% of younger consumers (18–34) use smartphones and that percentage is expected to grow to nearly 100% by 2020.
Watching videos has become mainstream for consumers. You Tube reports that nearly 5 billion videos are watched each day and that an average of 80% of consumers 18–49 watch videos with an average viewing time of more than 40 minutes.
New and existing vendors are developing solutions to accomplish these challenges. For instance, Lazlo’s Mobile CryptoImaging™ (CI) is a patent-pending technology that allows Lazlo to transform a lottery wager into a highly secure, anonymous, trackable and redeemable digital ticket on mobile phones.
“Lazlo supports all lottery draw and instant games and delivers content in a colorful ticket jpg, instant reveal or provides tickets embedded in a short, fun, engaging video,” explained Kiuttu. “To add value to a lottery wager, Lazlo couples free consumer product offers, product discounts and BOGOs with lottery purchases. Players can also be entered automatically into extra chance drawings for a chance to win experiential prizes. When they win a prize, they are notified on their mobile device.”
Lazlo conducted consumer research with younger and older audiences and light, lapsed and regular players. “All audiences responded very favorably to receiving lottery games and notifications on their mobile devices. Younger audiences were excited with the variety of videos available and value-added product offers and entries into drawings were very significant,” he said.