The Ohio Lottery’s Brand Health Study

By Marie Kilbane Seckers, Public Information Officer, Ohio Lottery Commission

Published May 20, 2025

In 2024 the Ohio Lottery embarked on a long-term brand health study, comparing our brand to competitors in Ohio’s gaming industry and state government. What did our customers, players of various games of chance, and others think of us? How likely were they to engage with us and play our games?

“A longitudinal study allows us to better understand our competition and outside factors that impact current and potential customers,” says Chief Marketing Officer Tom Ackerman. “By surveying key audiences on a rolling basis, we can tailor our games, promotions and rewards to meet customers’ needs and marketplace trends.”

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Longtime marketing vendor Marcus Thomas facilitated the multi-year brand health study, utilizing the services of C+R Research of Chicago, with data collected on a year-round basis.

The baseline survey, Wave 1, using a random sample of Ohioans 18 years of age and older, rolled out between August 7 and November 5, 2024. A second survey, Wave 2, followed November 6 to March 30, 2025, with results presented mid-April.

“Timely information is key to our communication strategy, creative development and messaging,” says Ackerman. “The data we collect provides a window into our business risks and opportunities. And in an ever-changing marketplace, this information helps us position our brand to be well-liked, trustworthy and worth playing.”

Overall, the Ohio Lottery has been well received among survey respondents, with a brand power score above the Ohio industry average in both Wave 1 and Wave 2 surveys. Even after a small dip in overall Ohio industry sentiment in Wave 2, our brand power score made incremental gains. Casinos/racinos, sports betting, online poker and lottery were all components of Ohio’s industry average.

In the Wave 2 survey, with a brand power score above the industry average, 68% of respondents viewed the Ohio Lottery very or somewhat positively.

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“It’s a good start, but it’s just that, as we dive into the performance of each of our games and our brand as a whole,” Ackerman says. “We are in a competitive, dynamic market. We want to get it right, and what meets our customers’ needs will continue to change.”

In both sessions, we took an in-depth look into each category of games. Planning is currently underway for the next round of surveys. Wave 3 is expected to begin July 1, 2025, with a Wave 4 survey in early 2026.

Only minor adjustments are expected in the upcoming brand health surveys, with the goal of continuously improving the Ohio Lottery’s overall brand score. We planned four waves, followed by an evaluation period, allowing us the option to conduct additional research. 

Methodology

A total of 699 and 700 respondents participated in Wave 1 and Wave 2 surveys, respectively. Respondents are limited to residents of Ohio, 18 years of age and older, who have played games of chance at least once in the last 12 months and plan to play games of chance in the future. Respondents are balanced by geography, with participants from Ohio’s three largest counties limited to 30% of total respondents. The Ohio Lottery screened and removed respondents who displayed problem gambling behaviors.

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How is a brand power score calculated?

Questions were developed to capture metrics gauging respondents’ affinity, awareness, engagement and intent in relation to the brand as a whole, each Lottery game category and other games of chance. Each component receives equal weight, with questions offering a five-point scale.

Responses were reviewed both by generation and by player segment.

Perceptions of the brand logo

The top words used by survey respondents to describe their feelings about the brand logo were “excited,” “optimistic,” “motivated” and “energized.” Pleased with these results, our goal is to continue building upon these positive traits through targeted communication to our various audiences. “Energy” and “trust” are top drivers of satisfaction and are traits we will continue to follow closely, developing strategies to boost their presence among customers.

All in all, these perceptions speak favorably of the brand, the importance of building on these brand differentiators among other games of chance and fostering our unique style within the umbrella of state government.

Lottery games and sports betting

As a category, sports betting had the highest overall brand power score in both Wave 1 and Wave 2 surveys compared to Ohio Lottery games as a whole. In Wave 2, sports betting led in affinity and engagement, while Ohio Lottery games scored highest in intent. Data to date indicates that interest in sports betting is cyclical, which the Ohio Lottery can use to its advantage after the close of the football season, before basketball and baseball seasons ramp up and sports betting sales are expected to rise.

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Takeaways and highlights

Brand awareness among Ohio Lottery games and other games of chance was highest for scratch-offs, followed by Mega Millions/Powerball/Lucky for Life and Pick games, beating out all other games of chance.

Likewise, positive sentiment for scratch-offs and multi-state games remained steady. Pick games and in-state Classic Lotto and Rolling Cash 5 games saw an improvement in sentiment over the two survey cycles. Lucky One, one of the Ohio Lottery’s monitor games, saw a dip in its score as the number of respondents playing weekly fell.

The Ohio Lottery’s brand power score was the highest among Millennials. Both Millennials and Gen Z tend to gamble in social situations. Compared to other player segments, advertising has a greater impact on their likelihood to play Ohio Lottery games. Their social nature and interest in experiential and competitive play offers opportunities for us to engage them through social means and promotions.

While strong, MyLotto Rewards®, our loyalty program, saw a dip in satisfaction in Wave 2 largely due to “Know Your Customer,” a roll out of program security features and a website/mobile site refresh in December 2024.

“Lottery Cash” is by far the most popular use of points, compared to drawings, coupons and catalog offerings by MyLotto Rewards® members.

Across all games of chance, budget constraints were the biggest factor in any decrease in play over the past year.