Social Trends to Watch
- Insights Online
- Jun 17
- 10 min read
By NASPL Insights Online
Published June 17, 2025
When we asked our questions about their use of social media, not only did lotteries step up to describe their experiences, they also shared what trends they are currently watching. You’ll find a number of themes repeated again and again, particularly video in general and short-form video in particular, plus the use of AI. Also of interest are the trends towards authenticity, including low-production content and having employees participate in video content. And to broaden their reach on social media, lotteries are collaborating more with various partners, including influencers and retailers.
One trend the Arizona Lottery is interested in leaning into is user-generated content. This is a great way to build authentic connections with players and ties in nicely with the Lottery's new brand platform, Love the Play. Arizona already encourages players to submit UGC in order to enter giveaways, but is excited to pursue more UGC tactics moving forward and incorporate that into regular content.
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The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and its partner advertising agency, CJRW, are closely watching trends in content formats, especially the performance of short-form video, carousels paired with music, and interactive features that boost engagement. Other trends being monitored are the use of micro-influencers instead of engaging with the celebrity influencers from past years, and the impact of AI in social media.
Atlantic Lottery is always paying close attention to any new features the existing social platforms roll out that could help connect with its audience, as well as the potential introduction or rise of any new platforms. It’s another that is also keeping an eye on how AI might affect the social landscape.
Social media is constantly changing and evolving – by the day! Recently, the California Lottery has been watching specific trends like the popularity and success of static carousel ad units, Facebook and Instagram’s new 4:5 spec, longer-form video with sound, and vertically animated videos with motion that move up and down instead of left to right. It’s not only important to keep a finger on the pulse of social content trends but also to stay close to players’ social media consumption preferences and platform activity. The Lottery monitors what types of social assets and content its players are most engaged with, and which platforms perform most effectively for various paid campaigns to help make data driven decisions for the future.
There have been many trends that utilize video content, which is becoming a key aspect of social media. As a result, the Delaware Lottery has incorporated video content more frequently into its social strategy when applicable. It has also seen a trend with more content featuring consumers in both organic settings (at retailers, community events, etc.) and organized settings (interviews, winner photos). To take advantage of this, the Lottery is posting “Big Winner” photos weekly and evaluating opportunities to capture more consumer content.
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The Florida Lottery is keeping a close eye on new platform updates, algorithm changes and consumer insights. Instagram is evolving by prioritizing Reels and short-form video content. Platforms draw success from the shareability of videos and content more than ever. With over half of Gen Z now using social media as a search engine, it’s more important than ever to create authentic, searchable content that informs and resonates with real user experiences.
Trends like short-form video, AI tools, and a growing focus on real-time engagement, like using Facebook Live to connect with an audience, are being watched by the Georgia Lottery.
The Hoosier Lottery is closely watching trends like the rise of short-form video, the shift toward authentic, low-production content, and the growing influence of long-term creator partnerships. For lotteries, it’s especially important to balance entertainment with transparency, so Hoosier is also tracking how brands use social media to promote responsible gaming and showcase community impact. As platforms evolve, the focus is on staying relevant by adapting to changing audience expectations while keeping the Hoosier Lottery engaging and informative.
The Idaho Lottery is keeping a close eye on the continued rise of short-form video, interactive content like polls and quizzes, and opportunities to collaborate with local influencers. It's also interested in encouraging more user-generated content to boost engagement and build community around the Lottery’s brand.
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Although it hasn’t implemented any AI tools yet, the Illinois Lottery is very interested in AI and how it might support organic social media strategy. Of particular interest is how AI could assist with a number of tasks, like determining optimal posting times and frequency, identifying what’s trending, and spotting brand advocates for influencer collaborations.
First entering the social media world by producing its own videos in 2007, the Iowa Lottery has always viewed social media as an ongoing science experiment. That opinion has not changed, all these years later! What works today may not work tomorrow, so it’s important to keep trying new things. Iowa reiterates a concern mentioned elsewhere in our social content: It has been alarming in the past handful of months to see the increase in spam and scam attempts on our social media pages. That’s a trend that is continuing, and the Lottery’s team has to block fraudulent accounts nearly every day, if not multiple times a day because they are trying to scam people into giving them personal information or money.
For the Kansas Lottery, the biggest trend being watched is the migration of users. So many new platforms are made with a very specific audience in mind, as opposed to the giant traditional social media companies who try to cater to everyone.
The Kentucky Lottery is actively monitoring the rise of the short-form video space and AI-driven integrations with platform algorithms and content discovery.
The use of shorter form, vertical video formats is also being watched by Loto-Québec, along with the rise of nano-influencers.
Trends come and go daily, so it’s important to try and stay in the loop with what’s popular on social media. The important thing for the Maryland Lottery is to try and capitalize on these trends while they’re still trending, so long as they are appropriate for lottery participation. Lotteries need to be part of the conversation while it’s happening. A lot of community building happens on social, and is often the result of a group of people with similar interests engaging with the same content. This gives the Lottery the opportunity to produce engaging content that will draw in new followers.
The Massachusetts Lottery is seeing a lot of successful point-of-view content that it hopes to incorporate more into Lottery content, specifically focused on winners and retailers to highlight local personalities.
As a state agency, the Michigan Lottery is somewhat limited on what it can try on emerging platforms. As a result, it tries to stay fresh and interesting on the platforms currently being used.
The Minnesota Lottery actively monitors emerging trends to engage in ways that align with its brand identity. The focus is on producing more reels to explore what resonates most with the Lottery’s audience, ensuring content is both relevant and impactful.
The social media coordinator at the Missouri Lottery is always on the lookout for trending content that can be recreated in-house. It’s not so much about committing to a particular theme just because it’s hot; it’s more about discerning what the Lottery can incorporate using the resources at its disposal while also being true to the brand.
The Montana Lottery tracks different trends for its Sports Bet Montana social accounts and its Lottery social accounts. For lottery accounts, Montana consistently monitors the social media landscape for emerging trends, particularly in short-form video. When a new trend surfaces, the team brainstorms for creative ways to directly connect it to the Montana Lottery or its products, ensuring content stays fresh and relevant. Interactive content is prioritized, exploring various methods like polls, quizzes and other engaging elements to create a more dynamic experience for followers. By being agile and adapting to these evolving trends, the Lottery’s primary goal isn’t just to grow its following and boost engagement, but also to ensure content remains exciting and resonates with all players. The Sports Bet Montana social accounts are starting to follow the trend of posting during sporting events. Social media seems to be highly active at these times. which will lead to the best follower engagement.
The New Mexico Lottery is watching all trends, researching current social media strategies and watching what other people and lotteries are doing. However, video is a trending tool that New Mexico hopes to expand upon, as research has indicated that viewers recall video much better than just reading text. Additionally, the Lottery hopes to focus on content that increases engagement to grow the average post reach.
The social media landscape is constantly changing, notes the Ohio Lottery. While video is not necessarily a new trend, it remains a popular form of content among top platforms. That means trying to leverage both short-term and long-term video on social media channels to connect with audiences and deliver messages. The creator economy continues to grow, and with that comes opportunities for investment. This also means employing regular monitoring and listening to keep on top of what thought leaders are saying and to understand brand health. Lastly, there has been a shift, especially among younger age groups, to delete social media. Users cite mental health and productivity as factors contributing to their decision. It will be interesting to see how this trend evolves.
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The Oklahoma Lottery team is keeping a close eye on a few key trends right now. First, short-form video continues to dominate – especially with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and even YouTube Shorts. The Lottery is always looking for new ways to adapt content to that format in a way that feels entertaining, quick and scroll-stopping. Another trend being watched is the desire for authenticity. Audiences are really responding to content that feels more real and less polished – things like behind-the-scenes footage, lo-fi videos, or creators talking directly to the camera. That’s something Oklahoma is starting to explore more in its own content and with influencer partnerships. Also worth paying attention to is the use of AI-generated content tools. From editing to scripting to visual generation, there’s huge potential for increasing output and creativity without needing a massive team. Finally, the Lottery is watching how brands are treating social media like entertainment – leaning into humor, storytelling, and pop culture to make content feel more native and less like an ad. That’s something Oklahoma has already embraced, and it’s exciting to see it becoming the norm.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming is watching what will happen with X; if Threads and Bluesky open up for advertising; the development of communities on Meta (just rolling out now in Canada); and whether OLG can be on TikTok in the future or not (this platform is currently banned for the organization).
The biggest concerns of the Oregon Lottery are always focused on demographic and generational usage and shifts on each platform. It’s important to be where customers and communities are engaging, and as Oregonians move from platform to platform, the Lottery looks to evaluate these in a number of areas, then grow or establish its influence where the critical mass of residents spend their time.
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The Pennsylvania Lottery is keeping an eye on TikTok, as well as monitoring how much social has grown and surpassed other media channels for broad reach and time spent.
Lotería Electrónica in Puerto Rico is closely monitoring the rise of AI-generated content, particularly its potential to enhance efficiency in content creation and customer engagement. Additionally, although not entirely new, influencer partnerships remain a dynamic and impactful strategy within the lottery industry, offering authentic connections and expanded reach across key demographics.
The Rhode Island Lottery plans to continue more Reels, Stories, and TikTok-style content, as these clearly drive higher engagement and visibility across platforms. It has also seen strong performance with giveaways and contests; collaborations and influencer partnerships that help expand reach; and authentic, behind-the-scenes or event footage posted in real time. All that said, the Lottery has a small marketing team, which means it often defaults to static graphics due to time and resource constraints. Yet recognizing that video is the future, Rhode Island is actively exploring ways to streamline the production process – whether through simple phone-shot content, repurposing footage, or external help when the budget allows.
For the South Dakota Lottery, video continues to outperform static images. It has also gotten a lot of engagement through the use of Stories.
Some of the main trends the Texas Lottery is observing is the use of vertical format videos on all the social channels, as social media continues to become mobile-first. Additionally, Texas wants to continue leveraging influencer marketing, which has been a great way for players to see firsthand what they can experience if they win a second-chance promotion. Lastly, the plan is to create more winner awareness content for social platforms by putting a face to winners and showcasing the incredible prizes awarded.
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For the Virginia Lottery, the largest trend right now is the development and growth of AI and its use online. On the one hand, it could be useful for creating an image without having to search for the perfect stock image or book a studio, source props for a set, hire an actor or model, and all the time associated with that process. On the other hand, AI is a divisive new tool where some people love the look of it and other users hate it. It also can be used by bad actors to spread false information about your organization – so it makes social listening all the more important. But whether or not we like it, it’s here to stay so the question becomes: How can lotteries adopt it in an ethical manner?
The social media strategist at Washington’s Lottery actively monitors platforms like TikTok Creator Center to track emerging trends, while also keeping an eye on other Washington-based accounts and influencers to stay in tune with what’s resonating locally. The focus is on trends that have reached a “universal” status – meaning they’re widely recognized by a wide range of 25-to-45-year-olds. When evaluating trends, the priority goes to those that are brand-safe, easy to adapt, and offer a clear and relevant connection to the Lottery or to life in Washington state. This approach helps the Lottery stay culturally relevant while ensuring all content aligns with its brand voice and values.
The West Virginia Lottery is closely monitoring the growing skepticism around AI-generated content. In response, it has adopted a more authentic voice in posts, incorporating culturally relevant references and a human touch. The team is also keeping an eye on developments in augmented reality (AR) technology. As mobile devices become more powerful, there is potential for immersive experiences in promotions and community engagement initiatives.
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The Wisconsin Lottery is paying close attention to how other lotteries are using social media influencers. Although it has not used influencers yet, the potential is recognized. The Lottery is also always working with its agency to explore new media buying opportunities on a yearly basis.
For WyoLotto, it’s important to keep a close eye on how quickly trends are coming and going. It doesn’t really chase many trends, mostly because they just don’t fit the Lottery’s brand voice or demographic, but also because some are too quick-moving – the window for the right time to jump on a trend can be so small before it feels “overdone.” Brands are trying to find their more authentic voice, with more of their own employees instead of relying on celebrities or influencers. The want for authentic messaging is growing as there is just so much content to digest, and a lot of people are just burned out by seeing the same things time and time again.
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