Paula Otto, Executive Director, Virginia Lottery, provided an overview of three Mega Millions research studies conducted in 2015-2016.
The first study was a National Omnibus study in 2015 that surveyed 1,217 adults. It was followed by a Brand Perception study in August 2015.
Finally, six weeks after the $1.58 billion jackpot, Mega Millions conducted Omnibus Study II in March 2016 with 1,184 adults and then compared it with the results from their 2015 study.
According to the 2016 study, there was 91% national awareness of the record $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot and 55% of adults played during the record jackpot.
“The record jackpot appears to have brought in some new players; however, the majority of playership shift was moving infrequent jackpot players to more recent player definitions,” said Otto. “As the jackpot grows, news media (TV, radio, and internet), word of mouth and social media all become critical sources of jackpot awareness and are touchpoints that can motivate infrequent players to play.
“Jackpot game players show interest in future, record-style jackpots by indicating they intend to enter the game and spend similar to their behavior during the most recent record Powerball jackpot. When asked more generically about jackpot levels, there is an indication that jackpot game players may be shifting their starting jackpot thresholds to higher jackpots during non-record periods. This is more true for Powerball vs. Mega Millions,” ended Otto.
