The top non-$1 instant games sold in North America shared similar characteristics: high price points, high prize payouts, and compelling themes. Below is a roundup of what lottery marketers thought was key to the success of their FY24 top non-$1 instant game:
Arizona: “Our top-selling ticket for FY24 was $50 500X Fortune. This ticket leveraged the popular multiplier theme and offered players the chance to win a $5 million top prize. Additionally, our Fast Play line set a new revenue record, exceeding $51.9 million in sales in FY24.”—Chris Rogers, Chief Marketing Officer, Arizona Lottery
California: $10 Mystery Crossword is a perennial player favorite and remains our top-selling game year after year. Although there is not a specific key to Mystery’s success, we do have research that helps us understand the wants of our crossword players: they consider the games their “me time,” a special end-of-the-day treat, and a chance to relax and unwind. Time spent playing the game is more important than a quick win. Our second-place game, $20 100X, is a fan favorite of loyal players, who love its simplicity and multiplier features.”—Whitney Alderson, Assistant Deputy Director, Marketing, California Lottery
Colorado: “Our most successful non-$1 instant game in FY24 was $50 $3,000,000Diamonds & Gold, which is a testament to the enduring appeal a life-changing instant cash prize has with our players.”—Scott Chavkin, Marketing Director, Colorado Lottery
Connecticut: “The introduction and reception of the new $50 price point $4,000,000 FORTUNE. The game attracted a segment of customers willing to spend more per ticket, thereby increasing the average revenue per transaction. This strategic move not only boosted revenue but also helped in narrowing the negative gap in financial performance from -9% to -2%.”—Carlos Rodriguez, Director of Lottery Games, Connecticut Lottery Corp.
D.C.: “Our $30 300X game was our top non-$1 instant game for fiscal 2024. I think getting back into the routine of consistently launching a $30 game has given us a boost, as well as making the ticket a multiplier, which is a player favorite.”—Stephen Cooke, Instant Product Manager, DC Lottery
Delaware: “Our top performing ticket in FY24 was our $30 Nothing But Cash ticket. We are a small market making big strides in the instant ticket world, and the success of the $30 ticket comes without large support other than promoting it in our Player’s Club account and introducing second-chance drawings to raise awareness of it. The organic success of this ticket shows our consumer base is ready and excited for higher price points. Likewise, we are eager to follow through and heighten their experiences with new games.”—Steve Kerneklian, Marketing Specialist, Delaware Lottery
Florida: “The $20 $5,000,000 TRIPLE MATCH scratch-off ticket game featured three ways to play and three ways to win with a key number match, instant win, and match three play styles that appealed to core players by offering life-changing $5,000,000 top prizes, a high volume of substantial prizes from $10,000 to $1,000,000, and attractive odds of winning prizes of $1,000 or more. Launched in September 2023, this game generated over $237 million in its first 16 weeks of sales, outperforming all other $20 tickets industry-wide during the same initial sales period.$5,000,000 TRIPLE MATCH included a limited-time holiday pulse, tying it into the TRIPLE MATCH Holiday Family of Games at the $1, $2, $5, and $10 price points and was eligible for entry into the $5,000,000 Holiday Bonus Play for extra chances to win.”—Diane Recoy, Senior Product Manager, Florida Lottery
Georgia: “Offering a well-balanced portfolio with a mix of large top prizes and smaller top prizes at various price points that can be cashed at retail.”—Katherine Cundiff, VP, Product Development, Georgia Lottery Corp.
Hoosier: “Our $50 Cash Extravaganza was the best-selling instant game in FY24. We attribute its success to keeping it widely distributed in most planograms, as well as providing a different play experience and prize structure than the second $50 game we offer.”—Jackie Koenig, Scratch-Off Product Manager, Hoosier Lottery
Illinois: “Our $50 $10 MILLION was a critical focal point and sales driver for the Illinois Lottery in FY24. We drove anticipation and hype with “coming soon” POS and followed up with promotions, PR launch, winners storytelling, and continued support in-store and online.”—Ryan Walters, Senior Product Manager, Illinois Lottery
Kansas: “We were very fortunate to have a sponsorship with the Kansas City Chiefs. We experienced the perfect storm … the value of winning the Super Bowl allowed us to move our Chiefs ticket to a $10 price point, and we launched it at the same time as the Netflix show, Quarterback.”—Stephen Ortiz, Director, Sales & Marketing, Kansas Lottery
Kentucky: “Our best-performing game last year was $50 Millionaire Club, our second $50 game launched. Average weekly sales for the first 12 weeks were $1.9 million, and average weekly per cap sales were $0.42.”—Rhonda Zimmerman, Director of Scratch-off Product, Kentucky Lottery Corp.
Louisiana: “There are many definitions of success, but looking purely at revenue, we join other state lotteries in seeing players migrate up the price-point ladder with the continued expansion of our $20 price point, which we launched in the fall of 2022. Our most successful game last fiscal year was the $20 game, Ultimate $500,000. While marketing certainly plays a role in product awareness, we attribute its success to the increased payout and price point positioning of our portfolio. Money talks!”—Susan Clayton, Director of Products, Louisiana Lottery Corp.
Maryland: “We had a lot of success with the $20 Win $100, $200 or $500. We launched it with our holiday tickets and had two pulses—one that fit in with the holiday theme and another more general theme that allowed us to extend the ticket in the market well beyond the holiday season.”—Kate Airey, Director of Product Development, Maryland Lottery & Gaming
Massachusetts: “In FY24, we launched our second $50 instant game, Lifetime Millions. The success of Lifetime Millions can be attributed to its innovative prize structure, a well-executed marketing campaign, and a strategic product offering that complemented the highly successful $50 Billion Dollar Extravaganza introduced in FY23. By emphasizing the spotlight prize—the chance for players to WIN UP TO $1,000,000 A YEAR FOR LIFE!—and employing a robust advertising strategy, Lifetime Millions captured the interest of players, ensuring its success in the marketplace.”—Tom Aiello, Instant Ticket Product Manager, Massachusetts Lottery
Michigan: “Full Ad campaign behind our $50 game which was also wildly supported by our sales team as well as the second chance component for players.”—Lindsay Sands, Printed Products Manager, Michigan Lottery
Mississippi: “Our $20 Jackson ticket launched in November 2023, which was part of the presidential family of games and was launched a month prior to the remaining price points ($2, $5, and $10). It featured our first-ever $1 million top prize. The top prize made this game appealing to our players, as it was the first time we have introduced that top prize amount.”—Angie DiGrazia, Senior Manager of Products, Mississippi Lottery Corp.
Missouri: “Our second $50 game— and best-selling scratchers ticket in FY24— was 500X. The launch had great support from our sales team, who worked months in advance to prepare retailer planograms and secure retailer buy-in to merchandise multiple $50 games. The game not only demanded attention at retail with its holographic paper, but it also offered many attractive game attributes sought by our players. These include: more than $250 million in total prizes; $5 million in top prizes; an 80% prize payout; three bonus plays; the chance to win up to 38 times; a multiplier theme; and focused prizes in the $500 prize level.”—Bill Burton, Scratchers Product Manager, Missouri Lottery
Minnesota: “$20 game with $100, $200 & $500 prizes only. The odds of winning one of the three prize levels are 1 in 9.48. Additionally, very good odds of winning $500 at 1 in 370. These Blowout style games continue to do well for us at all price points.”—Todd Vodden, Scratch Manager, Minnesota Lottery
Montana: “FY24 marked our first launch of the $30 price point. Since our higher price points of $10 and $20 are our best performers, it was natural to add the $30. The $30 has been our #1 performing game, and the top prize of $1 million was key in this game.”—Jay Boughn, Instant Product Manager, Montana Lottery
Nebraska: “The key to the success of our top non-$1 instant game in fiscal 2024 was initial distribution and high penetration, a research-based prize structure, ticket attributes sought by our players, and winner awareness campaigns.” — Brian Griesenbrock, Product Manager, Nebraska Lottery
New Hampshire: “Our top non-$1 scratch ticket in FY24 was $25 Diamond Jubilee. This game was successful for a few reasons:
- It is our highest price point ticket, which attracts core players.
- It celebrated our 60th anniversary, which received extra marketing support, and we had 60th-anniversary promotions in each sales territory.
- It had no breakeven prizes. The smallest amount won on any game was $60—to reinforce our 60th anniversary.”—Kelley-Jaye Cleland, Chief Product & Program Officer, New Hampshire Lottery
New York: “The top performing, non-$1 game for 2024 was the $30 price point game $100, $200 or $500. In addition to showing that higher price point games can perform well, it was a great reminder to us that the key to success in the scratch-off game category is providing variety—in price point, gameplay, prize structure, and even print run/time in market.”—Amy Wnuk, Lottery Games Director, New York Lottery
North Carolina: “Our top instant game in fiscal year 2024 was the $10 Million Spectacular ticket. It was the first $50 game in NC. Our key to success was the effort we put into the strategy and planning of this new price point. We prepared the existing portfolio for this new price point and established a longer-term plan for higher price points in general. We used research and external data to determine the value propositions of the game as well as the look and feel of the ticket and have a plan in place for the second $50 game to launch in fiscal year 2025. ”—Vicky Scott, Scratch-off Product Manager, North Carolina Education Lottery
Ohio: “Our highest-selling game this year was our first $50 game, Billion, released in FY ’23. The real success we witnessed came from the release of our second $50 game this year, 50th Anniversary. This game, being in the market for just under six months, realized sales of over $128.8 million. It was an integral part of the success of our year-old $50 product line. We’ve seen $50 sales in FY ’24 of over $409 million, an increase of 63% when compared to FY ’23. Our Marketing team had advertising and a promotion highlighting the new $50 game and our 50th Anniversary.”—Ron Fornaro, Instant Ticket Product Manager, Ohio Lottery
Oklahoma: “By the numbers, our $20 game Double the Luck was the best-selling ticket by per cap. I wish I could say it was because of a fantastic and comprehensive marketing campaign around it, but that just isn’t true. We have not done much to promote this ticket, so it must be selling well because of the elements of the game (design, odds, top prize, SPE, etc.).”—Abby Morgan, Director of Marketing & Product Development, Oklahoma Lottery
Oregon: “Introducing a $20 Crossword into the portfolio.”—Tina Erickson, Lottery Product Portfolio Manager, Oregon Lottery
Pennsylvania: “Our top non-$1 instant game, excluding holiday-themed games, was [$50] MONOPOLY™ Own It All. This was the first branded $50 game, and it visually set itself apart from any previously launched $50 games. The game was further enhanced by Scientific Games’ Sparkle Select® print feature with a blue wash to mimic the coveted BOARDWALK and PARK PLACE properties on the gameboard. Average weekly sales were over $5.1 million in the first 12 weeks of sales.
“Non-winning tickets were eligible for entry into the ADVANCE TO GO™ Second-Chance Drawing from the Pennsylvania Lottery for a chance to win $200,000. The game saw a spike in sales as the deadline to enter the Second-Chance drawing approached, further proving how much our players appreciated an additional way to win. This was not the only MONOPOLY™-branded game in the bunch. There was also a $10 progressive Fast Play game, MONOPOLY™ Free Parking Progressive, and a progressive eInstant game, MONOPOLY Property Payout, created by Scientific Games.
“Strong sales were supported by a robust marketing plan. The Scratch-Off game in particular received the following in advertising support: TV spot borrowed from the California Lottery, online video, out-of-home, social (including online conversion ads to play online), display, and a full suite of POS (including a poster for the). Four large community events were planned, including a Madonna concert. Approximately 20,000 were in attendance at each event. Players engaged with us by participating in a cash grab machine and wheel spin to win MONOPOLY™-branded merchandise.
“There were 21 retailer events that were similar to the large community events but with a smaller-scale cash grab machine where a purchase was required for a chance to win MONOPOLY™-branded merchandise. Participating retailers also held in-store Second-Chance drawings for a chance to win a MONOPOLY™-branded cooler. Lastly, for our retailers, FY 24 Q3 offered a 2.5 percent bonus commission on any MONOPOLY™ Scratch-Off game sold.
“As demonstrated, the key to success is not just one simple thing. It is a combination of efforts, planning, and engaging moments for our players that contribute to the overall success of a game.”—Kara Sparks, Director of Products, Pennsylvania Lottery
Rhode Island: “Our most successful game based on cash sales is the $50 instant game called $2 Million Royale. It is our first $50 game and has a $2 million top prize, which is our largest yet. We used a unique shade of pink and foil printing on the ticket and the posters at retail.”—Melissa Juhnowski, Marketing Manager, Rhode Island Lottery
South Carolina: “Our top-performing game was our $20 Millionaires Club, which featured no breakeven prizing. However, a close second was the $5 Monopoly game featuring SG’s Veriplay game enhancement where the winning symbol is exposed to the player. Players were treated to an animated reveal in their Players’ Club app, revealing bonus entries for a second-chance drawing.”—Ammie Smith, Director, Product Development, South Carolina Education Lottery
Texas: “Our latest $100 scratch ticket game $400 Million Mega Bucks yielded fantastic sales since its launch in early February. We distinguished this $100 game from others at the same price point in our portfolio by giving it a $5 million top prize and loading the game with $500 prizes.”—Will Russ, Products Manager, Texas Lottery
Virginia: “Our best-selling ticket launched in FY24 was $50 500X The Money. This was successful because it was built on the widely popular X The Money FOG that already existed in market. Our best indexing game launched in FY24 was $30 Cash Overload, a limited-tier game that only has the $100, $200, $300, $600, and $2,000 prize tiers. This was successful because it was our first time introducing this play style at the $30 price point.” — Scott Kenyon, Director of Marketing, Virginia Lottery
West Virginia: “The success of our top non-$1 instant game in fiscal 2024 can be attributed to a combination of factors. These include strategic marketing campaigns that resonate with our target audience, engaging and visually appealing ticket designs, and attractive prize structures. Additionally, our efforts to leverage player feedback and continuously improve the gaming experience played a crucial role in achieving outstanding results.
“Our best non-$1 instant ticket for fiscal 2024 was the $30 BONUS VIP-BLOWOUT-CLUB-SPIN. This ticket achieved remarkable success, with a weekly per capita performance of $0.15, which is just a penny more than the second-best performing ticket, the $20 XXXXX, which had a weekly per capita of $0.14.
“The $30 BONUS VIP-BLOWOUT-CLUB-SPIN is our only $30 ticket on the market and only the second regular $30 ticket we have launched. Its impressive performance underscores the effectiveness of our marketing strategies and the strong appeal of higher-value instant tickets among our players.”—Danielle Snidow, Deputy Director, Marketing, West Virginia Lottery
Wisconsin: “Our top non-$1 instant game in fiscal 2024 was our $20 Cash Machine Crossword ticket. Our $20 crossword tickets have become popular in Wisconsin, and sales have steadily increased each year. With crossword tickets being a popular theme for our players, our $20 ticket includes three puzzles and two bonus words to give players additional play value. $20 Cash Machine Crossword had overall odds of 1:3.2, a $200,000 top prize, and sold through in just over 16 weeks.”—April Forer, Instant Product Coordinator, Wisconsin Lottery
ALC: “Our most successful game in FY2024 was MEGA 360. Introduced in October 2023, MEGA 360 is Atlantic Lottery’s first hybrid product, providing players with a scratch game, a potential watch-and-win prize reveal, and a live-draw component for top-prize winners. MEGA 360 is also available as an Instant Wins product offered on alc.ca, making it a true multi-channel game that allows players to play how and where they want.
“It has become our best-performing scratch game, and it is already considered a core part of our portfolio. Several factors made this happen, including the unique game mechanics and offering the game across multiple channels, as well as having a major marketing campaign supporting the game since its launch.”—Brigitte Porelle Bourque, Product Manager, Atlantic Lottery Corp.
BCLC: “BCLC’s first ever $50 ticket Mega launched in June 2023. This is a national product but the first ever $50 ticket for BC. The success of this ticket can be attributed to many factors, including the design. This ticket features rich red and gold colors and sparkling effects fitting the name Mega. Players embraced this as a new and exciting offering. Adding to the appeal is the unprecedented payout and top prizes of $5,000,000, the highest ever on an instant ticket for BCLC. The launch was supported by a digital campaign and POS at retail. $50 Mega is our top-performing ticket of fiscal 2024, exceeding our weekly sales targets, and it will likely sell out earlier than anticipated.”—Shirley Park, Senior Product Specialist, Instant Games, British Columbia Lottery Corp.
Loto-Québec: “For fiscal 2024-2025, we have prioritized the enhancement of our strong brands and classic products, while periodically launching more targeted products focusing on trends for younger customer acquisition.”— Rosalie Brault, Acting Director, Products and Development, Lottery Operations, Loto-Québec
WCLC: “Our top-selling non-$1 ticket in FY24 was national $50 MEGA. Success was driven by a national collaboration to build a bigger prize structure—allowing for our largest-ever Scratch & Win top prize at $5 million. We tested our highest prize payout as well at 75%. The ticket itself was striking, utilizing Pollard Banknote’s Scratch FX. The ticket was supported with creative under the national “GIANTS” platform with the tagline: ‘A game so big, it’s GIANT.’”—Chelsey Rowledge, Manager, Instant Games, Western Canada Lottery Corp.
