53 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 machines’ as their #1 fun game, but Scratch-offs appeared in a solid 3rd place, with 19% selecting the instant win product. The Young and the Scratch-less Warning. The following sentence may cause one or more Lottery directors to visit their local General Hospital. Among 18-29 year-olds who have played Scratchers in the past year, 0% claimed that Scratch tickets were the most fun game. (See Fig 2.) That’s Zero. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Diddly Squat. So what do these younger adults find fun? Three quarters of under 30’s find the most fun in either Console games (36%), Mobile games (24%) or PC Games (15%). The common thread? Youngsters generally want three or four common factors for pleasure; something in their hand (sensory or control), for it to be easily accessible from home (comfort zone), or to be able to play whenever they want (instant gratification), or play wherever they may be (mobile). For the next age group up (30-39 year-olds), this number falls slightly, but these three gaming categories account for two-thirds of their fun. Scratch-offs, by comparison, were only chosen by 1 in every 20. Ironically, another pseudonym for Scratchoffs is Instants, but in 2022, is this an accurate description. Physical scratchers truly offer only one of the four factors, the sensory component of holding and scratching the ticket, in comparison to the ‘gaming’ world these twentysomethings crave. Physical instants are sold at retail (not in homes), which requires effort to purchase (non-mobile) and players cannot just purchase over and over again when they feel the urge. Imagine having to go to a convenience store to placate your candy fix, and also download the newest version of Candy Crush, or queueing in your grocery store for John Madden…neither sounds particularly appetizing. As the World (wide web) Turns Amazingly these findings all bode well for lotteries with an iLottery function, who have the ability to currently sell eInstants. In the remaining 39 U.S. states, these facts should act as an impetus for driving iLottery legislation. Generating additional state revenues that go to good causes benefits hundreds of millions of Americans. So, doesn’t legalizing more jurisdictions to sell a product that is a sensory-driven, accessible, anytime game, and therefore ultimately more fun at least in the eyes of the consumer, seems like the logical step for U.S. state hierarchies? Which governor doesn’t want more revenue and profit? And I know what you are thinking. What about sports betting? It covers all four of the key factors above, but only 3% of Americans who have bet on sports believe that avenue is the most fun, half the level of even Lottery draw-games. Perhaps the sports bettor sees their hand-held infatuation as more of a mental challenge than a fun activity. In Las Vegas, more than 75% of bets are placed on mobile devices within the sports books themselves, which underscores the importance of mobile and control. All My Children I now have two teenage boys, Ethan and Ashton, and almost everything they do is in the palm of their hand. Do I think this is going to change in due course? Probably not. They watch TV, engage with YouTubers, communicate with friends and game on their iPhones, resplendent with headphones to help their sensory environment. The recent $1.28bn Mega Millions jackpot was another warning sign for an industry that prides itself on being affordable fun. While 69% of Americans were aware of the second largest jackpot in history (See Fig 3.), this number was strongly and significantly lower among 18-29 year olds at just Continued on page 58
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