CLEVELAND, Ohio — The odds were one in 175 million, but that didn’t stop millions from buying a Powerball ticket for Wednesday’s $400 million jackpot.
The jackpot is back to $40 million after one winning ticket was sold at a gas station in Milpitas, California.
So the “Indifferents” who bought tickets in Ohio will sit back until the next large payout.
The Indifferents are among five segments of lottery players identified by Informed Decisions Group, consultants hired by the Ohio Lottery Commission to better understand who is playing the lottery.
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“Their play is triggered almost only by big jackpots,” the market segmentation study report said about the Indifferents. “To entice this segment is going to be difficult. They realize the odds and that they really aren’t going to win.”
According to research, about 39 percent, or 4.5 million, of Ohioans play the lottery, the report said. Of those, one percent are True Gamers, 45 percent are Aspiring Masses, 14 percent are Realists, eight percent are Moderate Gamers and 33 percent are Indifferents.
The company, using census data to reach the correct demographic profile, contacted 3,258 men and women who completed a 24-minute online survey last September. In addition, 37 in-depth interviews of about an hour were conducted to gain insight into the key lottery player segments.
Researchers also looked at the values of lottery players and whether they play because they want a chance to win big, enjoy small wins, envision winning, feel good or to support lottery profits to schools.
True Gamers play a lot and spend a lot, the report said. They love to play and are driven to play for entertainment, not high jackpots. They don’t need to be targeted.
Aspiring Masses have a low to medium playership, but make up the largest share of players so should be targeted, the report said. Higher jackpots increase their play but they are more driven by the entertainment and social aspect of playing.
Realists are similar to Aspiring Masses but play more and spend more, the report said. They should be targeted because they believe “You can’t win if you don’t play.”
Moderate Gamers play when there are large jackpots but find some entertainment in playing the lottery so have the highest future play intention, the report said. They need the right message and motivation to become more involved.
Indifferents are not driven to play except with large jackpots.
The report also profiled the type of player for each lottery game, including KENO, EZPlay, jackpot games, daily draw games and instant games. And it recognized the increasing competition for lottery games.
Among Ohio Lottery players, almost half have also played casino slot machines in the past 12 months while about one in five have played casino table games, the report said.
The commission plans to use the report to develop products, marketing plans and ways to reach players, including television, radio, Facebook or social media.
