Jackpots are a sure-fire way to grab the attention of a player, especially if an attractive and life-changing sum of money is on offer.
Cast your mind back to last year, when the record $1.6 billion U.S. Powerball jackpot was claimed by three lucky winners. The huge jackpot generated huge excitement amongst the public and grabbed the headlines all over the world.
According to IWG CEO Rhydian Fisher, jackpots will always have a place in the lottery sector as they invite interest from both new and existing customers.
“Players love jackpots,” he states. “Whenever you see a mega jackpot flash up on TV or on a website, regardless of whether you’re a lottery player or not, your mindset will inevitably wander to thoughts on how you spend the money. They’re fun and a very effective acquisition tool for lotteries.”
Such is the popularity and effectiveness of jackpots, he believes what has worked so well for traditional draws can also be replicated across other content, most notably online instant win games.
The instant win genre has grown exponentially in recent times, particularly with the younger adult generation, and Fisher claims that offering players huge jackpots will take the vertical to the next level.
“Millennials love the quick-fire format of instant win titles as it’s the type of entertainment they crave in other areas of life,” he says.
“We firmly believe that adding a massive jackpot prize will only enhance the user experience.”
However, simply adopting the progressive system used by traditional draws at present will not have the desired effect, he argues: “Networked progressive systems won’t work due to the small number of U.S. lotteries currently online. There isn’t enough liquidity in the market to allow for headline grabbing, attractive sums of money that individuals are used to.”
IWG’s solution is an insurance-backed model which removes the waiting time for liquidity or the need to create risk. It’s a system commonly used by secondary lotteries, which have insurance tools to cover the liability of a potential win, with the individual still having the possibility to win the value of the main jackpot prize.
“The model has helped propel the bet-on-lottery sector to new heights, and it’s our view that adopting a similar strategy with instant win games can help online lotteries grow their business too,” he argues.
Fisher adds that such a system can greatly help those lotteries who are launching online for the first time, offering a huge cash prize to new customers.
“This model can hand the marketing departments of both state and national lotteries a real silver bullet for acquisition right from their launch date. There’s zero risk involved for them, while it’s a simple, proven acquisition tool which can offer huge rewards for their customer base.”
In the online slots sector, progressive jackpots are common practice, but a key drawback is the fact they share liquidity with partner operators. However, more recently there has been a rise of operator-specific progressive jackpot systems, which ensures all the proceeds into the pot come from an operator’s own customers.
IWG has recently launched a new insurance-based solution, known as Rollover Jackpots, which can create huge prize pools for individual lotteries. “It’s a truly ground-breaking mechanic which has never been used before in the online instant win world,” claims Fisher. “With prizes rising up to $30 million and the chance for players to enjoy exciting and engaging games, it’s an effective way to increase dwell time and launch a new brand into the market.”