North Carolina Education Lottery Director Nancy Garland remarked that she could not even interest her own adult children in playing the Powerball lottery when enormous jackpots were at stake. “I can’t interest my children in it,” she said. “I have to threaten them within an inch of their life to go buy a $2 ticket. It’s $2. Go buy a ticket. Please, I’m begging you.”
A large part of the problem may be due to the outdated way in which lottery tickets are sold. To combat this issue, some state lotteries have introduced online subscription services and game apps for smartphones, but these campaigns have had a questionable amount of success. Out of the nine million people who play the Illinois Lottery, only 174,000 players have downloaded a lottery app that was launched in January of this year.
In comparison, 25 percent of lottery players in the UK are between the ages of 16 and 24 and they tend to buy tickets for UK Lotto and EuroMillions online. These virtual tickets are easy to manage and can never be lost, stolen or damaged. Official European lotteries also offer a variety of online games that can attract a visitor’s attention and encourage them to play.
The stark contrast between European and American lottery trends has demonstrated that sales tactics need to change in order to retain the interest of the U.S. population. The lottery industry, and the many initiatives that it supports, could be at risk of dying out if new and innovative ways to play are not implemented in the near future.
5th August 2014
