Lotto players are overwhelmingly older – so how can younger players be reached? 

With the future of the operation of the National Lottery still somewhat in the air – as Camelot challenges Allwyn’s bid – Lotto and its stablemates face another challenge: attracting younger customers to the game.

According to YouGov consumer data, two in five Brits bought a Lotto ticket in the last 12 months, making it the most popular betting activity in the market.

The data shows that Lotto retains a noteworthy lead over second-placed EuroMillions, in which a third of all Brits participated in the last 12 months (34%). But even though the games enjoy excellent market penetration overall, our data shows they are disproportionately played by older people.

Who plays the National Lottery?

Younger generations – Gen Z and Millennials – make up a significantly smaller portion of the group that has bought a ticket in the last 12 than they do the overall population.

In fact, only 1% of those who played the Lottery in the last 12 months belong to Gen Z (vs 7% of the overall population). The next generation up - Millennials - comprise just under a fifth (18%) of all Lottery players (vs 31% of the overall population).

By comparison, Boomers make up 38% of Lotto players compared to just a quarter of the overall adult British population (25%).

How can the Lotto grow its younger customer base?

National Lottery games obviously appeal to some younger players; but how can it build on this base?

First, it needs to be understood what’s keeping younger players from playing the lottery. Among those aged 18-44 and who don’t play the lottery, the biggest barrier is the perception that chances of winning are too small (36%). Over a quarter of them (27%) also say they’d rather spend their money in other ways, such as charity, so highlighting the Lottery’s charitable initiatives and community drives in a way that engages younger people might be one way to tap into this group of consumers. A fifth of them also don’t play because of the notion that it is expensive to do so (18%), making it the third biggest factor.

In order to reach new sets of young consumers, though, it is also important to look at what sets apart the existing younger Lotto players with respect to media consumption habits and sponsorship engagement. For example, our data shows that Lotto players aged between 18-44 are four times more likely than their older counterparts to have a paid Spotify subscription (32% vs 8%). They are also 31% likelier to have a free Spotify subscription, which opens more opportunities to advertise to them.

Social media might also be a great place to appeal to potential young customers. Almost three times as many younger Lotto players have used Instagram in the last month (61% vs 23% of older players) and they're more than six times as likely to have used Snapchat (26% vs 4%).

A third of them (32%) say they use Instagram to keep up to date with celebrities they like (vs 7%), which means there is a chance of appealing to them through celebrity ambassadors and sponsored posts too.

Overall, the best way to reach them on social media might be through influencer marketing. They are more than four times as likely to have noticed sponsorship via influencers than older players (25% vs 6%). They are also 15 percentage points likelier to notice sponsored user-generated content on platforms like YouTube.

Importantly, there is a higher chance of converting advertising impressions into sales. The data tells us that younger Lotto players are more than three times as likely to visit a sponsor website and make a purchase as older players.

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