The Silicon Valley start-up’s patented app makes ordering State Lottery tickets safe and convenient
The Mido Lotto app, which allows residents to play their State Lottery from their mobile devices, is poised to be in seven states by the beginning of October (after debuting in California just last spring).
Mido Lotto is currently available in California, Massachusetts, and Delaware, with four additional states already locked in for launches in the upcoming weeks. The app was created by Silicon Valley start-up Lottery Now, and is first in most states to offer a safe and convenient way to order official State Lottery tickets online.
Since launching last year, Mido Lotto is transforming the Lottery experience. It has quickly become the highest rated transactional Lottery app with an impressive 4.8 average user rating based on 15K+ five-star reviews in the Apple iTunes store, and hitting the top 30 in entertainment apps. With user adoption growing rapidly, Mido Lotto has saved Lottery players millions of trips to convenience stores to buy tickets, and the company is seeing exceptional performance across all key business metrics:
- In the first six months of 2021, Mido Lotto grew revenue by six times versus all of last year, and showed 500% growth in revenue from fourth quarter 2020 to first quarter 2021.
- Outstanding customer loyalty with 115% revenue retention after 6 months, far outperforming leading consumer apps in adjacent categories.
- An impressive lifetime value to customer acquisition ratio of over 3:1, with a payback period of under a year.
- A 46% increase in purchase frequency for engaged buyers versus traditional Lottery retail channels, helping to solve a long-standing industry problem.
- A customer base with a household income that is 17% higher than the U.S. average, bringing the Lottery experience to a whole new segment of the population.
- Unbelievable conversion rates with more than a third of all registrants becoming paying customers.
“Lottery is a $90 billion industry in the U.S. alone, and that’s with more than half the population only playing once a year due to lack of convenience,” says Richard Wheeler, President of Lottery Now. “We’re excited to continue our growth trajectory and to add to each state Lottery’s efforts to generate incremental revenue for their beneficiaries. Mido Lotto users skew younger and are time-strapped, mid and higher income individuals who typically don’t play the Lottery the way it’s currently offered. The data is telling us this is not about getting more money from existing players, but extending Lottery access to a new set of players who value convenience.”
To help lead its rapid nationwide expansion, Lottery Now has hired Alex Merchan, previously an executive vice president with LiveNation, to lead all marketing efforts in new and existing markets. Before Live Nation, Merchan spent 10 years with Hard Rock International, overseeing sales and marketing globally.
“As we rapidly expand to new states, we aim to reassure residents that Mido Lotto is a legitimate and safe way to order State Lottery tickets from their mobile devices – and that people in other states are already using the app and winning cash prizes daily without issue,” says Merchan, Lottery Now’s new head of marketing. “Whenever a new app-based courier service debuts – whether it’s food delivery or ticket ordering – marketing efforts need to not only communicate the benefits but also reassure potential customers that this new life-easing, time-saving service is an additional, reliable convenience that eliminates a barrier to accessing a good or service – or even a State Lottery ticket.”
Mido Lotto prides itself on being an industry catalyst without disrupting the industry – working alongside state Lotteries and adhering to their rules and regulations. The Mido Lotto app helps solve a long standing industry challenge of reaching new audiences and drives incremental revenue to States by attracting and retaining new players to the Lottery. A recent survey of their customers found that 89% were more likely to play the lottery given the ability to order tickets online.
Mido Lotto is already racking up substantial payouts, with one customer in Mission Viejo, California, recently winning $56,000 via the app.
How it Works
Similar to GrubHub (except its courier service is fully digital for consumers), Mido Lotto works as an intermediary that allows State Lottery players to order and manage their tickets directly in the app, which are purchased on their behalf from officially licensed state Lottery retailers.
Players can also use the app to send tickets as gifts, play in groups with friends and instantly claim winnings up to $600. For larger prize amounts, the physical ticket is presented so that winnings can be collected at a claim center in accordance with State Lottery regulations.
The Team Behind the App
Lottery Now’s leadership team comprises a wealth of experience across Lottery, tech and gaming who have designed games and technology for leading entertainment companies including IGT, Camelot, Oracle, Workday, Live Nation, Scientific Games, Hard Rock, Sulake and Zynga.
President Rich Wheeler most recently oversaw Lottery operations across twelve states for IGT, a multinational company that produces commercial gaming solutions for customers across 100 countries on six continents.
Mido Lotto follows strict compliance protocols in accordance with all federal and state regulations including age verification and geofencing, as well as responsible gaming measures which include strictly enforced daily, weekly and monthly order limits.
