People from all over the globe have been playing the lottery for thousands of years.

Lottoz

It’s one of the longest running industries in the world, but the past few years have seen the lottery’s traditional form undergo a transformation in order to survive the modern day consumer landscape. This fast-paced disruption is only set to continue in 2018.

Traditionally, players have to live in the country where the draw takes place to participate in the lottery. Tickets are bought at a nearby newsagent or supermarket and winners have to return to collect their winnings.

It’s a routine that had remained unchanged for generations, but despite the game’s longevity, the UK’s National Lottery saw big losses in the 2016/17 financial year. The sales of “brick-and-mortar” tickets - or tickets bought in-store - were down a whopping £607m.

Players are becoming less and less engaged with the traditional lottery. Consumers today are rapidly becoming digital-first, turning their backs on the high street and its outdated ways. The internet now plays a pivotal part in daily life.

Smartphones double as banks, photography studios, newspapers, TVs and more, all in the consumer’s pocket. With a few simple taps on a mobile people can order dinner or organise a taxi without so much as getting off the couch. Digital is now hardwired into the consumer identity and the convenience, speed and simplicity that mobile technology enables is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury.

To engage the new digital-first consumer, the lottery needed to find its place in the online world and offer an alternative to the old routine. Now mobile-friendly, digital gaming platforms allow consumers to play the lottery remotely - on the move or in the comfort of their home - with just a few taps on a device. This removes the inconvenience of having to head to local shops to participate.

Online lotteries send push notifications straight to mobile informing the winner of any prize, removing the need to actively look up global lottery results. There’s no physical cash or cheques exchanged and no long waiting periods to access the money - winnings are transferred directly into the winner’s bank account. It’s simple and instant as the clever technology does all the hard work on the player’s behalf.

Digital is the future and this needs to be the industry’s focus moving forward if it wants to survive and thrive. 2018 will see better lottery and gaming apps in development and new online services and products launching.

Streamlining the user experience so it is as easy, safe, simple and varied as possible will ensure that digital-first consumers won't dismiss the lottery as old news and start to engage with the ancient game in different ways.

Not only does digitising lotteries make accessing them easier, it in turn delivers more choice. Online lottery operators can now offer the best portfolio of the biggest jackpots in the world, normally reserved for local residents alone.

In addition to international lotteries being available for the first time, through the insurance model, lottery operators - like Lottoz - can invent, develop and create independent lottery games. These will often have better odds and more attractive jackpots than well-known lotteries like EuroMillions. It’s this diversification, as well as easy accessibility to games that are otherwise not available, that will appeal to new players.

Lottery is going global and to be part of this evolving trend operators need to be able to cater to the needs of different markets. For Lottoz in particular, there is an understanding that the industry needs to be tailored for each market.

It's not one size fits all and by utilising both business models - Betting and Messenger - operators can provide a customised experience to different audiences. Lottoz plans to do just that in 2018, as the first operator to have both business models.

Not only is the consumer’s physical participation in lotteries changing but also their incentive for playing. The reason why people are choosing to play the lottery has changed - mostly due to economic and social factors - and this will be reflected in developments in the UK industry over the coming months.

A survey Lottoz commissioned this summer revealed that, rather than craving huge jackpot prizes, the average British lottery player desires just enough to make life easier. The survey’s respondents wanted just enough to pay off debt, buy a first home, donate to charity, or treat close family to a holiday. It is this shift in the mindset of those who play the lottery that is leading providers to rethink the prizes they offer and how they market their games.

Take Camelot, for example. Towards the end of 2017 their marketing took a U-turn, from promoting their lotteries as a chance at a yacht-bound, megarich dream lifestyle to focus on more humble ambitions. Their Who Wins If You Win? campaign showcases ordinary people telling the public who and what they would spend their prize money on, including Lewes, who would buy a round the world trip for his mum, and John, who would give his apprentice the keys to his barber shop.

Camelot also recently announced they are planning on rolling out “lifetime prizes,” where rather than receive a lump sum winners are paid in monthly installments that span over decades. This means winning the lottery could make life more comfortable over the years. This is a big step away from jackpot-luxury lifestyle. Here in the UK, “every little helps” is a big part of the consumer psyche and lotteries are developing products to fit this. 

A successful modern day lottery needs to appeal to variety of players from the dreamers, who play with the aim of winning just enough to upgrade their lives, to the superstitious, who believe in the power of lucky numbers, to the jackpot hunters, who love the thrill of playing for big bucks.

And finally, of course, an aspect that will definitely play a big part in the coming year is regulation. There will be some regulatory shifts, both favourable and unfavourable. It’s unavoidable when transforming a traditional, deeply entrenched and monopolised market such as the lottery market.

However, digital lottery operators are here to stay and the demand for choice and diversity in games and jackpots isn’t going anywhere. So it’s not only regulatory shifts that are bound to shape 2018, it’s also how lottery operators, like Lottoz, adapt to these changes and rise to the challenge.