RALEIGH, N.C. — Madi Williams, 21, spends her days selling lottery tickets at TAZ’s Supermarket One convenience store in downtown Raleigh. She sees a steady stream of customers daily, but she’s not one of them.

“Everyone who’s above 40 comes in every day and spends like $80 on lottery tickets. It’s ridiculous,” she said. “Never really young people, I’m not interested either and I’ve never thought about why.”

Getting younger adults interested in a 40-year-old industry – where arguably the biggest product innovation was the advent of the scratch card in 1987 – is a challenge for lottery leaders worldwide.

“It’s being constantly talked about,” said North Carolina Education Lottery Director Alice Garland.

Even when the Powerball jackpot hit $500 million, Garland couldn’t excite her three kids, ages 29, 30, and 33 at the chance to win big.

“I can’t interest my children in it,” she said. “I have to threaten them within an inch of their life to go by a $2 ticket. It’s $2. Go buy a ticket. Please, I’m begging you.”

Advertisement

State lotteries are trying to engage 20- and 30-somethings with new phone apps, websites and altruistic cause-based campaigning.

“(The) U.S. is behind the rest of the world on technological innovation,” said Don Feeney, research and planning director of Minnesota’s lottery.

Lotteries in the U.K. and Canada have been selling lottery tickets online for nearly a decade.

A quarter of lottery players in the U.K. are between the ages of 16 and 24 and register for lottery games and tickets online, according to Camelot Business Solutions, which operates lotteries in the U.K. The lottery is working on adding instant win games to their digital offerings.

“We are trying to attract this demographic by offering players an enhanced and regularly refreshed range of games, and focusing on innovation to better reflect people’s changing lifestyles and shopping habits,” said Laura Pearson, a spokeswoman for Camelot Business Solutions.

Of those who play lotteries across the country, people between the ages of 25 and 34 rou tinely participate the least.

Advertisement

“It’s always been the case that the sweet spot for lottery demographics comes into play after the age of 30,” said Paul Jason, CEO of the Public Gaming Institute.

Young adults have never been a top-buying demographic, Jason said. Today’s 20- and 30-somethings have grown up in a digital age and expect a different entertainment experience than past generations.

Tying lotteries to charity is a new, appealing frontier, says Illinois Lottery Director Michael Jones.

“Young adults really care about causes; they really want to help things they believe in and causes they believe in,” he said.

Illinois 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, Jones said.

Younger players may come to the lottery only if their friends come, too. The games need to be more social, Feeney said.

Advertisement

“You’re talking about a generation of pack animals,” Feeney said. “They were looking for games that they can play with their friends and by and large that’s not the lottery or the way the lottery is being portrayed.”

Of 9 million Illinois lottery players, only 174,000 have downloaded the phone app since January.

If younger adults don’t start participating more heavily, the lottery industry’s future could be at risk.

“You’ll eventually be in the same position as horse racing,” said Jones, the Illinois director.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.