State Lotteries Nationwide Trying to Attract Young Players

Mobile apps and cause-related games hope to introduce younger Americans to lottery.

August 05, 2014

RALEIGH, N.C. – Throughout the country, state lotteries are trying to engage 20- and 30-somethings to become interested in the lottery, but it’s been a challenge. Lottery officials are hoping that mobile apps, websites and altruistic cause-based campaigning will help bring younger customers into the fold.

According to several state lottery officials interviewed for a recent Associated Press article, bringing in younger customers is a top-of-mind issue, with one lottery director lamenting that she couldn’t even get her own 30-something children to purchase Powerball tickets when there was a recent $500 million jackpot.

According to the article, of those who play lotteries across the country, people between the ages of 25 and 34 routinely participate the least.

Some officials attribute the lack of interest to an overall lack of technological innovation from state lotteries, a gap that mobile apps hope to address.

Another new approach to attract younger players involves tying lotteries to charity, as younger consumers tend to feel very strongly about the causes they believe in. The Illinois Lottery, for example, has games that direct money to the Special Olympics, Breast Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis research and has seen more sales among younger people with those games.

This effort to attract younger players needs to pay off, since in the end, if 20- and 30-somethings don't start participating more heavily in lotteries, the industry's future could be at risk.

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