$Billion is the new $Million for Lotteries

It's taking much bigger jackpots to pique people's interest in the lottery, than ever before

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Nov 19, 2018, 06:00 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of the recent Mega Millions record jackpot of $1.537 Billion (won by a single ticket purchased in South Carolina), Ipsos examined the behavior of ticket buyers during this Billion dollar draw and compared it to the only other time an American lottery prize hit the Billion-dollar mark (2016 Powerball $1.586 Billion jackpot). Scott Morasch, Vice President, Lottery & Gaming, Ipsos, says what we uncovered about lottery players during these times may surprise you.

Billions are becoming the new Millions:

30% of people who bought tickets for the recent Mega Millions jackpot say they didn't start playing until the jackpot reached at least $1 Billion. And, about half of these say they didn't buy until the jackpot reached its peak of $1.6B (the highest advertised amount).

Billion Dollar Interests:

Of those who bought Mega Millions tickets for this jackpot, Ipsos asked if they'd ever bought Mega Millions tickets before this jackpot started in July. 37% said they hadn't bought a Mega Millions ticket during the past year, before this jackpot. And, just under half of this number had never bought a Mega Millions ticket before.

Brand over Billions:

49% of Americans said they bought Mega Millions tickets this time. However, in 2015, 60% of Americans said they bought Powerball tickets during its $1.6 Billion jackpot run.

Billion Dollar Business:

Despite the hype and frenzy that surrounds billion-dollar jackpots, this is not the ideal situation from the lottery's perspective explains Morasch.

"They need people to buy tickets when the jackpots are lower, because that weekly revenue is what sustains the business. Conversely, if the jackpot was hit each week at its base level, the lotteries would actually lose money. Lotteries are walking a fine line of keeping players' interest and proceeds high. If we see more and more billion-dollar jackpots, interest will further decline because the novelty will fade. To combat this, lotteries may raise ticket prices or tinker with the games to make them even harder to win."

To access the full press release, please visit https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/billion-new-million-for-lotteries

SOURCE Ipsos