Lottery affiliates face a different challenge to that of casino and sportsbook affiliates, as they aim to generate traffic and provide content for a more varied audience.
Head of Acquisition at LottaRewards, Lawrence Wilson assessed the current climate for lottery affiliates to Affiverse, analysing what type of content drives a lottery audience as well as why lottery affiliates should place a greater emphasis on the mobile platform.
Affiverse: How is the content different for lottery affiliates compared to sportsbook and casino affiliates?
Lawrence Wilson: The nature of the content is completely different, although the format could be considered to be quite similar. I think this is most probably because the sportsbook and casino verticals were already well established by the time online lottery entered the iGaming arena, so many of the same tactics were employed by operators and affiliates alike.
Those tactics have proved to be effective in the past but, as the vertical really begins to carve a niche for itself, so the marketing techniques and strategies have begun to distance themselves from the typical “Top 10” lists so popular in the sportsbook and casino worlds. Lottery has been around for some time, but the direction it is moving into the future is still very much being determined, which allows affiliates to perhaps utilise a lot more creative and strategic liberty than they might in other iGaming verticals.
AI: It could be said, that lottery affiliates are aiming to attract a much wider audience than other affiliates, how can their content reflect this?
LW: Online lottery most certainly appeals to a wider audience than other iGaming verticals which, in turn, allows affiliates to market in a variety of ways and to a wide range of geographic and demographic markets.
Because the lotteries originate offline, much of the initial organic interest is generated via traditional media and word of mouth. Affiliates take advantage of this with content that is typically centred on the jackpot amounts, draw dates and results. It is this simple format that the majority of lottery affiliates employ with great success, and will undoubtedly continue to do so into the future, but there are some other interesting methods being employed of late that are helping to attract customers when there isn’t a $700-million US Powerball jackpot drawing this coming weekend. Online lottery operators are also starting to roll out complementary games and products to appeal to customers and keep them entertained whilst there isn’t a huge jackpot draw taking place. Instant win games, keno, scratchcards and even slots are beginning to become more and more commonplace, and some affiliates have begun to use these as potential entry points to the product.
Of course, the usual appeal to a person’s aspirations are a good place to start. Who doesn’t want to spend 30 minutes working out what they’d do with $250-million?! Further to this, however, is the educational approach. Purchasing lottery tickets online is a foreign concept to many people, even those that participate in local lotteries all the time, so there is a growing number of affiliates focusing on “how to” guides, comparative reviews (a la casino and sportsbook affiliates), and even demonstration videos (including live broadcasting on services like Twitch).
AI: What platforms should lottery affiliates place their focus on when trying to increase traffic?
LW: As with all online businesses these days, mobile penetration is critical to long-term success. More and more people, in both developed and developing markets, utilise mobile phones to conduct their business and make purchases. Social media is unsurprisingly massive on mobile devices, and this is a major source of online lottery traffic for many operators. It is important to note, however, that there is still a core group of potential customers coming in via more traditional devices like laptops and desktops, and so my advice would be to form well-rounded, all-inclusive marketing strategies where possible.
AI: Is there a greater ethical emphasis on lottery affiliates when it comes to driving traffic?
LW: Compared to casino and sportsbook, I would actually say that there is less ethical emphasis. For starters, nobody has ever spent $100,000 on purchasing lottery tickets over the course of a weekend. The truth is that participating in lotteries is not seen, by the vast majority of people, in the same light as having a punt on the ponies or a few rolls of the dice on a craps table.
The online lottery acquisition funnel is also far less competitive and aggressive than it can be with online casinos and sportsbooks, with the emphasis more on enabling customers to enjoy their experience across a variety of lotteries for a longer period of time than the “bait-and-hook” of no deposit bonuses.
Of course, our brands do recognise that some customers can let their imaginations run away from them on occasion, and so the customer service and retention teams do keep a very close eye on the activities of their customers to ensure that everyone continues to enjoy a fun experience.
AI: What advice would you give to lottery affiliates looking to reach an expansive audience?
LW: Coming from a background in online casino affiliates, the most exciting thing I have noticed is the much, much wider potential audience. People that purchase lottery tickets offline don’t necessarily browse for lottery-related information online, so the opportunities to showcase online lottery’s USPs can be done almost anywhere. Furthermore, the geographic spread is absolutely enormous in lottery, allowing affiliates to either exploit their specialist markets or explore new, relatively unsaturated markets. Our brands’ customer bases emanate from a multitude of countries dotted all over the globe. Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, Africa, South America… there are literally millions of potential customers everywhere.
In terms of real advice, I would strongly suggest that anyone interested in developing their affiliate business, regardless of whether they are already active in the online lottery vertical or not, get in touch with a reputable online lottery affiliate program and speak to an affiliate manager about the many opportunities just waiting to be taken advantage of.
