The full report can be viewed here.
Jackpocket, America's #1 lottery app, has released a report titled, “The Future of Lottery Courier Services: Identifying Opportunities & Challenges.”
The report, authored by Spectrum Gaming Group – a non-partisan consultancy that specializes in the economics, regulation, and policy of legalized gambling worldwide – affirms that responsible lottery couriers, like Jackpocket, that adhere to the best practices as outlined in the report, can operate successfully within most states’ existing regulatory framework.
Lottery courier services continue to expand across the U.S. Jackpocket will be operational in potentially half of all U.S. lottery markets before the end of 2023; app users have won over $300 million in lottery prizes, and Jackpocket has over five million registered users. Consumer spending habits suggest continued growth in e-commerce spending. According to the report, Millennials – a generation of more than 80-million Americans – made 47% of their purchases online in 2017, which increased to 60% by 2019.
The significant user growth that Jackpocket is experiencing, along with the noticeable shift towards e-commerce among consumers generally, bodes well for the lottery courier service sector. By leveraging this organic growth and combining it with a set of best practices, the report has the potential to create value for the industry, state lotteries, and consumers.
The Spectrum Report outlines a set of quantifiable best practices that the lottery industry can adopt as an agreed upon set of standards and benchmarks. In turn, these benchmarks enable the marketplace to properly evaluate and work with responsible couriers.
“The lottery industry is aligned around a universal goal: to get more people safely playing the lottery and investing the revenue raised back into local communities,” said Peter Sullivan, CEO of Jackpocket. “Since starting our company 10 years ago, Jackpocket has helped generate hundreds of millions of dollars of incremental revenue for lottery beneficiaries throughout the country. Lottery courier services are a ready-made solution for supporting the sustainable growth of state lotteries in the face of increased competition from other forms of gaming, all without any additional overhead costs,” said Sullivan.
While the report details several best practices, industry consensus says the three key findings below are of the highest importance, practical to implement, and will create a safe and secure experience for consumers:
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Transparent Order Fulfillment: Orders must be fulfilled on a one-to-one basis and an image of the ticket must be provided to each customer. This ensures couriers operate in full transparency for consumers and the lottery system.
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Unsanctioned International Lottery Sales Prohibited: Lottery couriers, or their related businesses, that engage in the unsanctioned international distribution of American lottery products must be prohibited from working with licensed lottery retailers.
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No Courier Mark Ups or Reselling: The actual cost of the lottery ticket must not be marked up by the courier; couriers are a delivery service not a licensed retailer, and tickets must not be purchased in bulk without an identifiable customer.
“Like all industries, the strength of the lottery market hinges on the integrity of its weakest participant. Adopting a set of industry best practices within the lottery courier service industry will strengthen the overall market,” emphasized Brianne Doura-Schawohl, Executive Director, Campaign for Fairer Gambling. “Spectrum’s report outlines common-sense, action-oriented proposals that every market actor should want to adopt because they will enhance consumer trust and responsible gaming practices.”
Lottery play is expanding nationwide, and courier services are helping to reach younger generations and underserved players, as evidenced in the Spectrum Report. Couriers are proving to be an asset for the lottery in growing overall sales. For example, Jackpocket is responsible for roughly 15% of all draw game sales in New York on an average day.
Courier services also supplement state lottery operating budgets through advertising support, including:
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Advertising current jackpot amounts
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Announcing the release of new lottery instant tickets
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Providing lottery consumers the ability to instantly find the nearest lottery retailer
“Lotteries and courier services should be working together. Even states that have implemented an iLottery program can benefit more from a defined, safe, and robust lottery courier service marketplace,” said Bishop Woosley, former executive director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and Jackpocket Advisor. “In order to survive, the courier service industry needs a strong lottery system – the two are in a mutually beneficial relationship and couriers cannot survive without it. The Spectrum Report is encouraging because it clearly shows how both the lottery and courier service industries will be stronger if they are operating within a shared, responsible set of best practices.”
“While lottery couriers have been around for over a decade, they’re still a relatively new concept to the general public. Aligning around a set of best practices – as set forth in the Spectrum Report – will ensure that traditional lotteries, as well as the general public, view lottery courier services as a convenient, fun, and responsible way to play the lottery,” said Sullivan.
The full report can be viewed here.
*According to data from AppFollow
