MDI customers set record for ticket entries for the lotteries

Lottery players in these jurisdictions enter their tickets on the lotteries’ websites for various purposes, which may include 2nd Chance drawings, last top prize drawings such as Play It Again! and, if the lottery is a Properties Plus customer, rewards points for Points for Prizes or Points for Drawings. The websites, drawings and rewards program are managed by MDI. If the lotteries utilize Scientific Games’ patented Easy Entry system, a player need enter a ticket only once for multiple drawing entries and rewards points. 

“The record number of ticket entries set on March 24 indicates an increasing awareness and appreciation of the added opportunities to win provided by 2nd Chance and Play It Again! drawings, as well as the chance to earn rewards points where the Properties Plus program is available,” said Steve Saferin, President, Properties Group and Chief Creative Officer for Scientific Games. “Perhaps the most significant reason for the surge in entries, though, is the eligibility of terminal-generated tickets for draw games in Arkansas and North Carolina.”

Originally, only non-winning instant tickets were eligible for entry in the Properties Plus rewards program. Last year, MDI began creating web codes for terminal-generated tickets in Arkansas so that players could earn rewards points for draw games as well. Today, Powerball tickets are entered at a greater frequency than any other game in Arkansas.

Draw games became eligible in North Carolina’s rewards program on February 25 of this year. In the month following, more draw games were entered than instant games, and membership in the program more than tripled.

“The results in Arkansas and North Carolina clearly indicate that players will enter draw game tickets in exchange for the opportunity to secure rewards either through shopping or drawings,” said Saferin. “The creation of web codes, which has allowed for the inclusion of draw games, has significantly increased player participation in the already successful Properties Plus program in these jurisdictions, and we believe it will play a role in attracting and retaining more players.” MDI has interfaced with GTECH and Intralot to offer web codes.

The Points for Prizes rewards program, which is the central component of Properties Plus, rewards players with points for qualifying ticket entries. Points can be redeemed in the Points for Prizes store, which features hundreds of items offered at varying point values, from digital downloads and magazine subscriptions to sporting equipment and electronics. Points also can be redeemed in Points for Drawings, which award higher value “aspirational” prizes to drawing winners where authorized by law.