Hitting the charity jackpot for a mutual win

Having solely scooped the fourth-largest jackpot win in US Mega Millions’ history this month, 20-year-old Shane Missler pledged “to pursue my passions, help my family and do some good for humanity”. Noble words which, when accompanied by a jaw-dropping lottery jackpot of £330m, will offer Missler a better chance than most of fulfilling such charitable goals.

The turn of a new year also typically elicits similar good intentions from mortals less blessed in random-number prophecy. Indeed, despite January traditionally being a leaner time for expenditure, charitable donations actually peak during the winter months, before falling off over the summer and autumn in U-shaped fashion. While this trend is driven by fluctuating variables, it does represent a perennial phenomenon with which all charities have to contend. And while many non-profits accordingly load their campaign resources around Christmas, giving fatigue and target-confusion can negatively impact donations at this time of high visibility for the charity quarter.

Curious cognitive biases can be both a gift and a curse for the gaming and charity sectors. Charities try to help the many by appealing through empathy for the individual, because people’s intuitions to care actually diminish with the more people you ask them to care for. Lotteries rise and fall on towering jackpots appealing to the public’s wishful thinking, not the rational probability of an unlikely win. Therefore, turning these perceptual bugs into features is a common challenge. And, it appears, one they can tackle together.

For we are now seeing an increasing flow of charities partnering up with lotteries in order to diversify their income streams, and provide a genuine year-long safeguard to the seasonal subjectivity of their supporters. After all, jackpots are one of the gaming industry’s reliable mainstays, pulling the ripcord on players’ dare-to-dream sensibilities with a varied portfolio of small-stakes-big-win scenarios. Simply put, the larger and more convincing any operator can make a jackpot, the greater the player-participation rates and ensuing engagement. At RISQ, we ride on the back of the largest insurance limits in the industry, with a £25m Jackpot RNG that can be pressed into service of a wide range of games, gearing jackpot-size, odds and frequency to each operator’s specific needs, with the accompanying gains for entrant-retention and repeat visits that you’d expect.

RISQ’s B2B director Tom Mitchell

Good causes

As a result, any charity partnering with such well-placed operators can ride on the coattails of a truly scalable solution for a consistent revenue-share over the long-term. In the past year, we’ve seen UNICEF, one of the world’s most revered organisations, validate this mode of partnership in Norway with “UNICEF-lotteriet”, a lottery which gave Norwegians the chance to win up to €210,000, secure in the knowledge that 30% of each ticket they bought was going straight to helping children in danger. Closer to home, UK charities with a lottery licence can presently only offer a maximum jackpot of £25,000 or 10% of ticket sales (whichever amount is higher) up to a maximum of £400,000. To which end, “society lotteries”, like The Health Lottery, are already taking advantage, rewarding players alongside over 50 community-interest companies spread across Great Britain.

In short, then, the signs are already encouraging that this creative solution can generate a rare win-win-win scenario for charities, jackpot-operators and entrants alike. Certainly, increasing prize pots continue to ramp up user engagement for operators, and I believe bet-on-lottery companies will progressively start donating a slice of their revenues to worthy charities. After all, a perceived failure to defend worthy causes was the emotive reason behind the DCMS banning betting on EuroMillions draws. So this emerging industry could do with a PR victory to raise it from the moral valleys.

Speaking of ethical concerns, it’s worth remembering that lotteries have always presented the acceptable face of gambling, with more people generally playing recreationally for small stakes. This innovative new approach can reframe lotteries as gateways to the public both supporting charitable work and winning large cash prizes along the way. Non-profits, on the other hand, can also expand their client-bases by giving players another worthwhile reason to explore their wishful thinking, knowing they are simultaneously contributing to the greater good.

Shane Missler, America’s latest overnight multi-millionaire, would definitely agree. Now, though, is time for all concerned to back up words with action.