Since the new version of Mega Millions held its first drawing on April 8, players have continued to win big and the game has continued to deliver on its expectations that the game enhancements would benefit players. In the nine Mega Millions drawings over the course of the first month since launch:

• 1.89 million players won $51.3 million in non-jackpot prizes. That’s a 308% increase from the $12.5 million those prizes would have been valued at in the old game.

• $18.8 million in prizes have been won by players matching only the Mega Ball. That’s more money awarded for the ninth prize tier alone in the new game than the $12.5 million that would have been awarded across all non-jackpot prize tiers in the old game matrix.

• More than 587,000 players have won the minimum prize for a winning ticket, $10 ($5 base prize with 2X multiplier), collecting $5.87 million in prizes. The winnings at just that $10 prize level – not including the 3X ($15), 4X ($20), 5X ($25), and 10X ($50) prize winners who also matched just the Mega Ball – are more than double the $2.5 million that would have been won by all the 1.25 million winners who each would have won just $2 in the old game.

• Nearly 60,000 winners at the 10X multiplier level have won more than $3.8 million across the various prize tiers. The 10X multiplier level was introduced with the new Mega Millions on April 8. In the previous version of the game, players could pay $1 extra to add a non-jackpot multiplier to their play that maxed out at 5X.

• Prizes at every non-jackpot level are paying out at a combined 2.6X to 7.5X the value they would have under the old game matrix, meaning prizes being awarded at every level are outpacing the game’s price adjustment.

• Five people have become millionaires by matching the five white balls during a drawing. Three of them won $2 million, one won $3 million and another won $4 million. Winners bought tickets in Michigan, New York (2), Virginia and Washington.

• The first jackpot under the new matrix was won just four drawings into the new game. On April 18, a $112 million jackpot was won on a ticket sold in Ohio. Under the new game rules, the jackpot was reset to $50 million and is already up to $100 million again for the Friday, May 9, drawing.

“It’s exciting to see how players are reacting to the new game, especially when they win. The more they see their winnings multiply, the more they’re understanding the value of the new game and why we made the changes we did,” said Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium.

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Compared to the old game, the new Mega Millions features bigger prizes at every non-jackpot prize tier, improved odds to win the jackpot, better odds overall, a larger starting jackpot, faster-growing jackpots, and no break-even prizes. Prizes in the new game range from $10 to $10 million vs. the $2 to $1 million in the old game.

“Movers and Shakers” is a dynamic monthly column dedicated to exploring the latest trends, developments, and influential voices in the iGaming industry. Powered by GameOn and supported by HIPTHER, this op-ed series delves into the key players, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes shaping the future of online gaming. Each month, industry experts offer their insights and perspectives, providing readers with in-depth analysis and thought-provoking commentary on what’s driving the iGaming world forward. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the scene, “Movers and Shakers” is your go-to source for staying ahead in the rapidly evolving iGaming landscape. 

Allan Petrilli, Managing Director at Acquire.Bet, talks about paid media and the trends shaping customer acquisition in the regulated North American market

Paid media is very much the future of player acquisition in the regulated North American market, but running successful campaigns is not without its challenges.

More than ever, operators and marketers need to nail not only their creatives and messaging but also the measurement and tracking of campaigns.

Paid channels control much of the campaign and ad targeting, but with stricter privacy rules in play, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to target directly based on a user’s preferences.

Creative fatigue is as real as it is prevalent, so operators and marketers need to achieve creative iteration at scale, not only in terms of volume but also creative types and formats.

Just as important is having measurement dialed in and being able to inform the platforms of what is working – this means having a ton of actionable data at your fingertips so you can quickly decide where to spend your ad dollars.

Then there’s incrementality and uplift, which can’t be ignored, either.

The platforms themselves are starting to take more “credit” for conversions, so being able to zoom out and understand multitouch is key to making the marketing budget go further and perform better.

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The great SEO slowdown

Paid media is becoming increasingly important in player acquisition efforts because there is a clear SEO slowdown. This, combined with advancements in generative AI in search, means brands are going to have to rely more on communities for growth.

Influencer marketing is no longer just getting some with a decent following to promote your brand, with micro influencers becoming a very important piece of the puzzle.

It’s also worth highlighting Discord here as it’s starting to play a significant role, especially in sports betting. This channel is all about community and trust, and we are seeing some really smart partnerships play out across the platform.

Regardless of platform and channel, operators must understand the power of their brand and that by aligning with influencers and communities that match their values, they can supercharge growth.

The only caveat here is that these partnerships need to be authentic.

Market maturation brings new challenges

As the North American market matures, we see the establishment of standard success KPIs, but it’s important that each brand really understands its own LTV and CAC data so that it can drive towards hitting its own success metrics and not just “industry” standard KPIs.

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Why? Because those industry standard KPIs are often skewed by the power players that have spent big to get to where they are today, and won’t be reflective of smaller operations and brands.

It’s also important to focus on incremental growth as the market matures, understand the power of multi-touch and how each channel supports the overall acquisition strategy. Operating in silos is a recipe for disaster.

In addition to this, operators need to have a clear view of their runway – those with considerable cash can operate in more aggressive ways than brands that are relying on quick growth to fund future spend.

Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s why operators must focus on their own metrics for success and not industry-standard KPIs. They also need to remember that while being nimble is key, being relentlessly focused on data is what will allow them to win.

Regulations do influence player acquisition strategies, but everyone plays the same game

A lot of times, operators will focus on regulation and compliance to make excuses as to why they market one way or another, but the reality is that everyone is playing in the same sandbox and under the same rules.

How marketers push those boundaries, and to the extent they are willing to get creative, is what separates those who succeed and those who don’t.

Take Ontario, for example. You can’t promote the welcome bonus, so brands are having to engage players in other ways – those with kick-ass product marketing campaigns or that offer something truly unique are winning right now.

Of course, paid media is the perfect channel through which to communicate their epic product and unique player experience.

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The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued $151,000 in penalties to Great Canadian Entertainment for allegedly failing to prevent minors from accessing gambling on multiple occasions at three Toronto-area casinos.

As part of its investigation, the AGCO reviewed four separate incidents in which minors allegedly gained access to the casino floors and in which some of these minors participated in gambling activities – two cases at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, and one at each of Casino Ajax and Pickering Casino Resort.

The AGCO is committed to ensuring casinos meet Ontario’s high standards of harm reduction and responsible gambling. The AGCO’s Standards require operators to ensure only eligible individuals are permitted into a gambling site and strictly prohibit access to anyone under 19 years of age (except in the course of employment). The Standards also mandate that casino employees have the necessary competence, skills, experience and training to effectively carry out their duties, including age verification.

This enforcement action underscores the AGCO’s dedication to protecting youth and other vulnerable individuals.

A casino operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty by the AGCO Registrar has the right to appeal the Registrar’s decision to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative tribunal that is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.

“Ontario casino operators have an obligation to ensure minors are not able to access casino floors or activities such as slot machines or table games. The AGCO will continue to monitor and hold all casino operators accountable for fulfilling this important role.”  – Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, AGCO.