Published July 24, 2024
Great work deserves to be recognized and celebrated, which is why I love Lottery Week. In our industry, we're experts at celebrating wins, both big and small. Most of time, our celebrations include players, retailers, partners and our beneficiaries. However, for the past six years, for one week in mid-July, we take time to recognize the collective contributions that lotteries throughout the United States and Canada make to the communities we serve.
Lottery headlines are mostly about people winning big sums of money. That's fine for 51 weeks out of the year, but it's also incredibly important to remind the communities we serve that our contributions extend beyond big prizes.
In fiscal year 2023 alone, U.S. lotteries generated sales over $113.3 billion, resulting in more than $30.4 billion for our beneficiaries. In Canada, lotteries provided more than C$3.6 billion for the causes they support. This money is helping crucial public programs, improving the quality of life for individuals and communities, and providing essential services and resources where they are needed most.
As much as I respect and enjoy learning about the contributions our industry makes each year to so many important programs, one of my favorite parts of Lottery Week is finding out what lotteries across the country are doing to share the celebration with their players and retailers. Now we can look back at last week’s events and provide a snapshot of just a few things offered in some jurisdictions. There was so much more!
In addition to a one-day promo for National Lottery Day, the Missouri Lottery offered a "Reward" for their loyalty club where players could earn double the points ordinarily earned for completing a Reward.
The Nebraska Lottery provided coupons, promotions and fun! Each day of Lottery Week, there were new social media posts, with content about winners, games, beneficiaries and retailers using the hashtag #LotteryWeek.
The Maryland Lottery awarded free tickets with random purchases of draw games and Fast Play tickets. The randomly-awarded free tickets included $1 Pick 5, Keno, Bonus Match 5 and Fast Play games; $2 Cash4Life and Multi-Match tickets; and $5 Fast Play tickets.
The New Mexico Lottery offered a Lottery Week Codeword Promo that emphasized a responsible gaming message. From July 15-19, New Mexicans 18 and older could enter a codeword at the Lottery’s Promo Zone for a chance to win $20 worth of Lottery Bucks and a Lottery prize pack.
Throughout the week, the Florida Lottery used different platforms to showcase how the organization gives back to communities across the state. They also had a social media giveaway where three winners who correctly answered trivia questions received a $200 home improvement gift card.
The New Jersey Lottery had an Instagram Sweepstakes to celebrate National Lottery Day. They used the occasion to encourage players to “Tell us your New Jersey Lottery win” story.
The New Hampshire Lottery used the phrase the "Week of the Player" during Lottery Week to show their appreciation to their players. There were several social media giveaways with prizes such as gas cards, Jason Tatum jerseys and DraftKings gift cards.
In South Dakota, National Lottery Day was celebrated with a bundled promo. Players could purchase their “Good Fun Bundle” for just $5, consisting of one quick pick ticket each for Powerball, Lotto America, Lucky for Life and Dakota Cash.
The Idaho Lottery hosted a 35th Anniversary celebration on Lottery Week Friday, where they returned their annual dividend to the state. Activities included a live band, on-stage contests, and a second-chance event from their 35th Anniversary tickets where participants would dive into cakes to find a prize. One participant won $10,000!
If there is one thing all lotteries know how to do, it's having fun! I hope all of our players, retailers, partners and the communities we serve enjoy Lottery Week, which continues to grow each year.
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