Lotteries and People: Patterns, behaviour and trend of lotteries

Introduction:

The lottery industry has its presence in the history from long ago.  The earliest known traces of lotteries come from Chinese Han Dynasty which dates back to between 205 and 187 BC.  These lotteries are also believed to offer a helping hand to important government projects like the Great Wall of China.  In the Roman Mythology, where the Iliad of Homer refers to lots being placed into Agamemnon's helmet to determine who would fight Hector.  The modern history of lottery dates to 1800s when many governments legalized lotteries in their countries.
The lottery industry rarely experiences a decline. TaxFoundation data shows that in even in 1983 and 1991, which was the time of economical crisis the sales of lottery increased marginally, suggesting that some people see the lottery as a solution to their financial problems and people involved in lottery are loyal to it even in hard times.

Big Events Round the Clock:


There are many more factors affecting the behavior of people in lottery purchases.  Like a big event happening in the surroundings.  A Calvin Ayre report shows an increase of 83% in lotteries during FIFA world cup in June 2014.  The same happens with other big events around the globe.  So the lottery takes an upward path whenever people get engaged in big events.  The bigger events give enthusiasm to people to bet as much as they can.

These events play an important role in increasing the lottery sales as the glamour of the event and money around it triggers the mind of the people to try their luck in the pond of money. 


Hope to hit the Jackpot:


According to the survey of 1,000 Americans by Opinion Research Corporation for the Consumer Federation of America and the Financial Planning Association, 21% of those surveyed believed that the lottery would be the most effective way to get millions.  This percentage, in addition, was higher among lower-income individuals, with 38% of those who earn less than $25,000 pointing to the lottery as a solution.  This gives a rough picture that people with lesser income are more likely to be loyal to the lottery in every situation. 


People believe a lot in their luck. When someone wins any lottery in the neighborhood, they feel the urge to win and in turn, start playing.  They hope to win the jackpot.  A report in YourHoustonNews showed a store got an increase in sales because one of its selling tickets claimed a prize of $12M.  It went unclaimed.  People used to come with their old tickets to re-check the winning numbers.  This, in turn, resulted in an increase in ticket sales as well.


Technology and Infrastructure: 


Technology is rapidly changing the buying habits of the masses.  It is also affecting the way lottery is delivered. The trend is moving towards digital lottery where people can bet from their choice of computing device be it laptop, tablet or a mobile device.  A lottery operator needs to offer a digital lottery distribution to make its presence significant. Technology-driven lottery sales are on the rise all around the world.


With mobile becoming ubiquitous even in the emerging economies, mobile-based lottery delivery system plays an important part in the overall scheme of things.  The lottery operators are increasingly offering innovative distribution channels like SMS Betting, USSD Betting and Mobile App Betting among the other technology-driven lottery deliveries.


With the huge number of lottery operators in the market, any operator needs to check his offering are better than the competitors to attract the potential customers.  The demand for lotteries is ever increasing, but the operator needs to make sure the lottery being offered is best in the category to have more players for the lottery.  Offering higher payouts, increase in number of retailers and embracing technology-based innovations are some of the significant factors that help the lotteries becoming more popular.


Fond of Betting:


The players loyal to lottery do not move away from the lottery unless given a reason to.  A research shows 80% of lottery profits come from 10% of players.  That means the players stick to the lottery if they find it worth.  The betting is something a few people cannot resist.  They have the urge to try their luck and hence they go for it in every possible way. 


The impact of lottery on people’s mind is huge.  With the American Powerball value at $550M, people are eager to take a chance.  According to Lottery officials in Iowa – headquarters of Powerball, they are getting calls from Canada and Europe from people wanting to know if they can buy a ticket.  They ask if they can FedEx the money. This describes the desire of people to play the lottery.  They want to keep trying to hit the jackpot.  This helps the operators to attract potential customers by increasing the prize.