The successful launch of Powerball’s third weekly drawing also highlighted player enthusiasm for add-ons like Double Play.
The launch in August of a third weekly Powerball drawing was a win for players and the industry, and a testament to the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) and member lotteries for their commitment to evolving the multijurisdictional game portfolio.
In the first week after the change, total Powerball draw sales were up more than 16% versus the week prior. And with the high jackpot rollup to over $650 million in the sixth week after the change, sales were up over 260% versus the week before the third draw addition.
IGT analysis of MUSL data found that most of the non-jackpot-related growth in the early weeks was driven by the new Monday draw and the addition of Double Play.
The Powerball change is the latest example of a trend to refresh games by adding more draw times, which has reinvigorated lotto and cash games in recent years, for example, with in-state games in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Rhode Island, and with inter-provincial games in Canada. The multistate game Cash 4 Life moved from two drawings per week to seven in 2019, and the Lucky for Life game followed suit in July 2021. Adding convenience and selling opportunities for numbers games, keno, and lotto is a trend that has brought great success not only in North America, but with lotteries around the globe.
Beyond refreshing the base game, the Powerball change also highlighted the powerful appeal of add-on games such as Double Play.
Added Attractions
With the third Powerball draw in August, 13 U.S. jurisdictions also introduced Double Play, a $1 add-on game that enters the player’s same Powerball numbers into a secondary drawing for the chance to win additional prizes up to $10 million.
Double Play is a derivative of revancha-style games that have proven successful internationally for years. More recently, states such as Indiana, Michigan, Colorado, Florida, and North Carolina have all launched the Double Play type add-on to in-state games.
Initial data reveals that the lotteries offering Double Play on Powerball are leading the U.S. in week-over-week sales increases, with no sign of base-game or Power Play cannibalization.
The play mechanics and winning categories for Double Play are the same as the base game, making it easy for players to understand. And the prize-pool allocation is more concentrated on low- to mid-tier prizes, enhancing the winning experience for players. Explains Sarah Walker, IGT Senior Director Draw-Based Game Portfolio Optimization, “The Powerball base game pays out 50%, and 34% of that is the jackpot. For the average player, the other prizes offer only a 16% return. To enhance the winning experience, the Double Play add-on shifts the value proposition, with 50% of sales going to the lower-tier prizes and improved overall odds of winning with a second set of numbers.”
Double Play works in conjunction with other add-ons, such as Power Play, a multiplier that increases a player’s non-jackpot prizes for the Powerball base game by up to 10X. To take advantage of Power Play, the player must first win a prize on the base game, while Double Play gives a player two chances to win. Where available, players may select one or more of these add-ons for extra winning potential.
“The states that are seeing the most success with the recent Powerball change are also states that have traditionally done well with the Power Play add-on,” reports Walker. “They’re not seeing cannibalization of Power Play—there’s a strong correlation of success between the two add-ons.”
The addition of Double Play has already proven to attract incremental spend, with the Double Play states seeing their average spend per board increase from $2.26 in the week prior to launch to up to $2.41 before the jackpot surge began to erode average spend per board. In the states without Double Play, the average spend per board remained flat at $2.24 during this time period.
Notes Stefano Monterosso, Senior Vice President Global Lottery Product and Same Store Sales, “From these early results, we believe Double Play will continue to gain playership in the jurisdictions where it has launched, encouraging more lotteries to consider it.”