CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Lottery wants to reach out to more players by making it easier to purchase tickets and there’s an app for that.
Lottery Marketing Director Nikki Orcutt said they tried out their first e-game last year. It was called “Collect and Win” and was available via a mobile app.
“Any eligible ticket could go from any Internet connection to a micro-site. It allowed you to enter your serial number from your ticket and it worked like symbols from a game card,” explained Orcutt. “Once you collected all your symbols on your game card it automatically entered you into weekly drawings.”
The Lottery handed out gift cards and cash to winning players. During that trial run about 6,000 lottery players registered for the game. Today the number of players with the app has quadrupled.
At this point, the e-games will still be based on traditional lottery purchases.
“It still requires a purchase, at the retail location, but makes it a little more a little more convenient if you don’t win on the actual purchase to have a second chance at more money,” according to Orcutt.
Other states have already established e-Lottery tickets. Lottery players in those states can even purchase Powerball and Mega Millions tickets online. Orcutt said the West Virginia Lottery is moving in that direction, but first they wanted customers to feel comfortable with the online second chance games. She does not believe total e-Lottery will take the place in West Virginia. She said the retail spots are too important.
“We don’t anticipate that our average player is going to not go to their retailer. That’s kind of like a routine,” said Orcutt. “If you stop at the same store on your way into work or your way home, you’re probably not going to stop doing that.”
She said there’s room for more lottery opportunities in today’s tech-savvy world.