- Third party lottery app Jackpocket has signed a partnership deal with the Minnesota Twins baseball team.
- This is Jackpocket’s fifth major league sports partnership and their first in Major League Baseball (MLB).
- Jackpocket is available in Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
We’re in the early days of the 2022 Major League Baseball (MLB) season and even with the stagnating US gaming market we’re seeing some partnership activity come across the wires. Last week, Caesars Sportsbook decided to spend some more money on the hopeless grease fire that is the New York sports betting market by partnering with the New York Mets. This week, we’ve got the Minnesota Twins who have announced a partnership with third party lottery app Jackpocket. Jackpocket becomes the ‘Official Mobile Lottery Partner’ of the Twins. It is their fifth pro sports partnership deal and first in Major League Baseball. We covered a previous partnership deal with the New Jersey Devils earlier this year.
Jackpocket is ‘the first licensed third-party lottery app in the United States’. Jackpocket provides an easy, secure way to order official state lottery tickets and is now available in ten US states with more on the way. Jackpocket currently serves Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, D.C. It’ll be interesting to see where Jackpocket launches next and when it happens. In many states, ‘gaming innovation’ are dirty words which is why the US sports betting scene is in the mess that it is.
Here’s some of the particulars of Jackpocket’s deal with the Twins:
Jackpocket, the leading third-party app in the U.S. to provide a secure way to order official state lottery tickets, and the Minnesota Twins today announced Jackpocket as the Official Mobile Lottery Partner of the Twins. This partnership signals Jackpocket’s entry into the Major League Baseball (MLB) scene.
With the new season heating up, Jackpocket is providing fans with giveaway VIP tickets, field tours, and other unique experiences for Twins fans and Jackpocket users. Fans can use the code “TWINS” at checkout to receive a free lottery ticket.
In addition to giveaways and VIP experiences for fans, Jackpocket will be the sponsor of the Twins “Hits” series. Every time a Twins player gets a hit in a game, fans will get the opportunity to win a free lottery ticket on the app. The Twins will also be giving away free lottery tickets during high jackpot moments and provide chances to win tickets and other prizes in partnership with Jackpocket.
Jackpocket CEO Peter Sullivan is pleased to see his brand’s partnership roster expand into Major League Baseball:
“With Opening Day recently behind us, we look forward to bringing Twins fans a new way to play the lottery with this partnership. This is Jackpocket’s first-ever partner in MLB, and I’m looking forward to this season filled with new opportunities and growth.”
Twins Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer Meka Morris, is always happy to add to his partnership roster:
“We are thrilled to deliver our fans exciting new ways to engage with baseball, Target Field and the lottery. Jackpocket is a perfect partner for the Twins as we continue to evolve our digital and game day experiences to meet our fans where they are.”
I’m not really clear on the Jackpocket business model. Here’s what they do in more specific terms, direct from their website:
The Jackpocket app provides users with a secure platform to order official state lottery tickets that are then fulfilled on their behalf at a licensed lottery retailer we partner with. When you place an order, we send you an email confirmation that includes all the details of your order. Then you receive another email once we’ve secured the ticket for you that includes the ticket serial number. We also send a high resolution scan of your paper ticket — front and back — for you to view in the app. The email receipt and ticket image are assurance that your ticket was purchased. Your paper ticket is securely stored in a locked, fireproof vault. If your ticket wins a small prize, we’ll credit your Jackpocket account and you can send the winnings to your bank account. If your ticket wins a large prize, we’ll arrange to have the winning ticket delivered to you in secure fashion so you can claim your prize directly from the state lottery.
They charge a fee when you load your account:
As we’re a courier service, we charge a service fee when you fund your account to cover our costs, and so that you can continue to experience the most convenient, safe, and fun way to play the lottery!
The fee amount will always be made available to you before making a transaction. Head to the Fund Account section of the app to try it out.
The good news? There is no monthly fee, no fee to sign up, and we don’t take anything from your winnings — whatever you win is 100% yours!
Beyond this, I’m not sure if they have any revenue streams. Digital Lottery sales are experiencing strong growth–here’s a quote from an article in Convenience Store News talking about new technologies driving traffic to stores:
Technology, the pandemic and consumers’ desire for convenience are propelling the growth of digital lottery. In 2020, sales increased 25.7 percent, according to Global Industry Analysts Inc. For 2021, digital lottery sales were projected to reach $2.3 billion.
In July of last year, Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the parent company of Circle K, partnered with Jackpocket to begin offering digital lottery through 1,300 locations across Arkansas, Colorado, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and Texas.
Jackpocket is a licensed third-party lottery app that lets users order official state lottery tickets fulfilled by a licensed lottery retail partner. Digital lottery is not currently legal in all states.
From the sound of it, Jackpocket gets additional revenue from the convenience stores–in this case Circle K:
At Circle K, customers receive exclusive deals via the Jackpocket app and by email, including “surprise alerts to drive foot traffic,” said Jackpocket CEO Pete Sullivan. Circle K is promoting the lottery app in its stores, at fuel pumps, in digital ads, via emails, and via a team member incentive program. The app was also rolled out to sister brand, Holiday.
To keep things legal, you can only play the lottery games available in the state where you’re at. It’ll be interesting to see where Jackpocket goes from here. They appear to be doing well but I’m concerned that they’ll run into the same issues as sports betting–not enough states interested in innovation involving third party businesses. States also get nervous when the private sector gets too close to the lottery as they’re not interested in ‘sharing the wealth’. Even in Ontario–where there are few sports betting and iGaming prohibitions–there’s this regulation involving the lottery:
Bets on synthetic lottery products and bets on lottery outcomes are prohibited
Of course, the difference is that Jackpocket works from within the official state lottery framework. Offering wagers on lottery results–or what the blurb above refers to as a ‘synthetic lottery product’–has been a fixture in the offshore wagering industry for years.
The lottery might not be ‘our thing’ but I’m always happy to see any type of innovation in the US gaming industry. If nothing else, I appreciate Jackpocket thinking of us hard working gaming reporters and helping out by including a nice graphic with their press release.
