Winning Partnerships
- 5 hours ago
- 15 min read
Many lotteries have become experts in working with other organizations or companies to maximize player engagement.
Compiled by Patricia McQueen
Published August 18, 2026
Lotteries have a lot to offer. For players, there’s the chance to fulfill a dream with a very small stake. For the general public, there are significant revenues flowing to good causes which ultimately – if sometimes invisibly – benefit every resident. For retailers, there’s a regular source of revenue and great publicity for selling big winning tickets. And for any company or organization that partners with its local lottery for a game or promotion, there are benefits of that partnership no matter the scale, since lotteries reach a wide audience.
Our initial goal was to uncover some of the more atypical partnerships lotteries have forged with companies or organizations, beyond popular sports sponsorships, packaged licensed properties, and even typical retailer promotions (all of which can and do provide significant benefits for both parties). With relatively few responses focused solely on these types of partnerships, we are including the broader range of responses that we did receive.
ADVERTISEMENT
Small Lottery, Big Results
The New Mexico Lottery has been mighty in recent years, developing a number of award-winning instant games in partnership with local brands and organizations. These efforts have sent player engagement levels through the roof.
“One of our best corporate partnerships was with the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe to create the award-winning Zozobra Scratcher game,” says Director of Marketing Wendy Ahlm. “From first contact, their organization was incredible to work with. They were always available, helped us promote every aspect of the game, and offered to help in any way they could.”
They shared the Lottery’s email messaging and social posts on every aspect of the game, from ticket art submissions to contests and the ultimate launch. They attended television interviews, helped set up a Meow Wolf launch party, and showed up with prizes to help at the event. They offered new opportunities, such as revealing ticket art on New Year’s Eve at the Santa Fe Plaza, provided valuable seating inventory at the event for player prizes, and even served as the host for the Zozobra grand prize final event.
The Lottery has partnered with Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino in the track’s “Hot Seat Promotions.” For these partnerships, the Lottery provides half of the prizes through Lottery Bucks, and Ruidoso Downs purchases the other half of the tickets needed for the promotion. In exchange, Ruidoso Downs promotes the game through direct mail pieces to casino players, its radio ads for the Scratcher giveaway, posters, social media, and casino announcements. On certain days and times during the promotions, they award Scratcher tickets in drawings.
The Lottery also works closely with New Mexico radio stations to offer listener promotions that benefit both the station and the Lottery. The Lottery receives promotional ads and daily gameplay in exchange for player prizes of Lottery Bucks and merchandise. Annually, the Lottery receives about $100,000 in added-value media for about $15,000 in prizes.
One recent radio promotion featured the Lottery’s successful Legends of Lucha Libre game, transforming the airwaves into a virtual wrestling arena through a high-engagement promotion spanning 30 radio stations statewide. The campaign was designed to build deep brand affinity by turning listeners into “Lucha Experts” through interactive storytelling. It demonstrated massive fiscal efficiency. By leveraging prize packs and promotional mugs, the Lottery secured $67,000 in earned media value in exchange for just $6,000 in Lottery Bucks and 300 mugs – a 10X return on investment.
Legends of Lucha Libra figured in a number of other successful partnerships for the Lottery. There was a high-energy sponsorship activation with the Albuquerque Isotopes minor league baseball team, and also a live wrestling event that changed the way the Lottery hosted big events. “Traditionally, the New Mexico Lottery hosted large-scale events only after a game sold out, to award grand prizes,” explains Ahlm. “For the Legends of Lucha Libre Scratchers, we pivoted the strategy – leveraging a live experience early in the life cycle to amplify brand awareness, reward players, and directly accelerate ticket sales.”
That live experience was a wrestling showcase at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, creating an authentic cultural connection. Event tickets were not sold, but rather they were treated as exclusive rewards – available only through a digital entry process managed via JotForm. “This turned the event into a powerful lead-generation and player-engagement tool.”
By transforming a lottery game into a live spectator event, the New Mexico Lottery successfully bridged the gap between traditional gaming and immersive entertainment, driving both ticket sales and brand affinity within the community.
ADVERTISEMENT
Winning Ideas in the Bluegrass
Fresh off a successful partnership with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and omnichannel games celebrating the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the Kentucky Lottery launched a dynamic new partnership with the Kentucky Humane Society (KHS). Included are an omnichannel suite of games, promotions and experiential events that celebrate Kentucky’s love of animals. This one-of-a-kind collaboration spans Instant Play, Fast Play, and scratch-off games – all featuring charming cats, dogs and horses. In a heartwarming twist, the scratch-offs highlighted real pets who had been adopted from KHS or were currently waiting for their forever homes.
The partnership included a licensing agreement with KHS, allowing the Kentucky Lottery to use the organization’s name and imagery of adoptable pets. In return, KHS helped enrich the program with exclusive experiences and prizes, ranging from free pet boarding and waived adoption fees to the unforgettable opportunity to name a rescued horse.
To support the launch, the Lottery developed a fully integrated marketing campaign. Eye-catching outdoor billboards, playful and bold point of sale materials, and a suite of digital assets brought the three ways to play to life in a fun, cohesive story. This isn’t just a campaign – it is a connection point, with every element designed to extend beyond traditional marketing and tap into the emotional bond players have with their pets.
Social media was a cornerstone of the strategy, leveraging many of the licensed assets to attract new audiences who share a passion for animal welfare. National celebrity chef and Louisvillian Damarius Phillips, who cooked for and spoke to lottery attendees at the 2025 NASPL Professional Development Seminar, joined the effort, creating an influencer campaign that seamlessly combined the Lottery’s game messaging with a heartfelt call to adopt. The results were remarkable. Engagement skyrocketed, player feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and many individuals purchased Kentucky Lottery tickets for the very first time – motivated by their support for a cause close to their hearts.
The partnership reached its peak during KHS’s largest annual event, Waggin’ Tails, held each summer at Waterfront Park in Louisville. Thousands of pet lovers attended, and the Kentucky Lottery delivered a standout experience by bringing scratch-offs to life with oversized “Dog-selfie” ticket displays for photo opportunities at this special event. Participants delighted in seeing their own pets imagined as the stars of a Kentucky Lottery scratch-off.
This integrated campaign didn’t just showcase new games, but it also demonstrated the power of a mission-driven partnership. Together, the Kentucky Lottery and KHS inspired play, encouraged adoption, and strengthened community connection across Kentucky. Not one to rest on its laurels, the Kentucky Lottery is currently working on the next partnership that leans into pride and regionalism for players across the state.
ADVERTISEMENT
Partnerships of All Sizes
In the case of lottery partnerships, one size definitely does not fit all. They don’t all have to be elaborate programs with big ambitions and expensive campaigns. One of the lottery industry’s strengths is the ability to work with local communities, whether or not beneficiary revenues are tied directly to those communities. Finding companies and organizations that serve those communities may lead to ideal partners for a lottery game or promotion.
For example, the Montana Lottery partnered with Can-Am and a local Montana dealership, Mount Helena Motorsports, to develop and launch its featured $10 Summer Scratch game, Can-Am. Explains Scratch Product Manager Jay Boughn: “Seeking a collaborator with strong Montana ties, we began by working with Mount Helena Motorsports, which led to direct collaboration with Can-Am to design a themed game featuring three side-by-side vehicle prizes.”
Winners could choose their preferred model with $33,500 available toward the selection, and the Lottery covered all associated taxes. There were also two $2,500 second-chance cash drawings through the Player’s Club to boost engagement. “The game launched in May and has become one of our best performing $10 tickets to date.”
The Lottery brought 20 years of experience producing merchandise vehicle-type games and more than a decade of launching featured summer scratch games, creating player familiarity and strengthening loyalty within the Player’s Club. Can-Am supported the project with marketing direction and access to its co-op site for ideas, brand guidelines and vehicle images. “While working directly with a partner rather than a licensing vendor can be more challenging, requiring new communication channels and approval processes, the collaboration ultimately delivered a strong, well-aligned product,” says Boughn.
Even smaller partnerships can generate interest. For its $5 game $50,000 BBQ Bucks, the Idaho Lottery partnered with Idaho-based Agri Beef and their Double R Ranch/Snake River Farms brands of choice cuts for steaks, ribs, brisket, and hamburger. The partnership featured use of the Double R Ranch brand on the game ticket. Agri Beef supplied six $500 grill packages of meat for monthly second chance draws. Entries were handled through the Idaho Lottery’s VIP Club website using an 8-digit alphanumeric code.
To promote both the scratch game and beef brand, a series of in-store promotions were held across Idaho in Albertsons locations, exclusive retail home for Double R Ranch beef products.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Perfect Match: Lottery and Sports
Many lotteries offer sports sponsorships or other partnerships with local college or professional sports teams. Although these weren’t a specific request for this article, we include those who provided details.
The Colorado Lottery’s Denver Broncos partnership has been one of the most successful in the Lottery’s history. Last year’s limited-edition Orange Cash scratch ticket celebrated the iconic throwback Broncos orange and let fans score big with instant prizes and bonus drawings. The bonus drawing grand prize was a VIP trip for two to the 2026 Draft, and second-tier prizes included season passes in section 100 and pairs of tickets to individual games. Denver Broncos games are always in high demand in Colorado, so this was an extremely popular promotion and partnership. Orange Cash was the best-selling $5 scratch ticket of FY2026.
That success led to another Denver Broncos-themed scratch ticket for the 2026-27 season, the $5 Broncos Blitz that launched on August 3. Exciting prizes are offered through a second-chance drawing, including a VIP Game Day Experience at Empower Field at Mile High and 2028 season tickets. Recent partnerships with the Denver Nuggets have also been very successful.
The Georgia Lottery (GLC) supports education, and the HOPE Scholarship and Georgia Pre-K are the primary beneficiaries of the funds raised through lottery sales. The Lottery has maintained a promotional sponsorship with several of the college athletic programs in the state in order to create unique product offerings that ultimately drives product sales and brand awareness.
Although sponsor benefits vary by school, the GLC strives to leverage these relationships with in-arena signage, in-game activations, on-campus promotions, sports game tickets for promotional use, away-game tickets and travel for promotional use, hospitality for promotional use, GLC presence at multi-sports, radio/TV inventory (when available), use of school marks, access to athletes, HOPE Scholar video testimonials for social media, etc.
After many years of discussions of a joint lottery product, last year the GLC and the University of Georgia launched the very first co-branded lottery scratcher in Georgia. It was a huge hit, resulting in a second launch this year.
The 2025 co-branded product was Georgia Jackpot, a $5 scratcher with a top prize of $300,000 and a print quantity of 3.6 million tickets. (This year, the same price point and top prize is offered in Bulldogs Bucks, while the quantity was increased to 4.56 million tickets.) To drive awareness of the new product, GLC partnered with UGA and created marketing materials, including TV, radio, POS, social media, and a promotion to win trips to an away-game. There was statewide news coverage of the game, which sold out in 16 weeks. Included was a second-chance promotion for a Georgia vs. Florida away-game trip, with nearly 20,000 entries from a two-week social media blitz. There were also hundreds of on-campus student entries for that trip.
The Wisconsin Lottery has been working with the Green Bay Packers to bring Packers-branded tickets to market since 2009. Though in the early years the Lottery offered one scratch ticket (and one year it was even a raffle game), the offerings for the past few years have been a family of games consisting of the $1, $5 and $10 price points. The partnership has been very successful for both the Lottery and the Packers.
This summer, the Lottery launched three branded scratch games consisting of a $1 Go Packers, $5 Green & Gold Crossword, and $10 Packers. Also included is Wisconsin’s first ever Packers-branded Fast Play game, Packers, at the $2 price point.
Each year, the Lottery works closely with the Green Bay Packers in order to create strong ticket designs for the Packers product line, along with exciting prizes for a Packers Bonus Drawing. The prizes for this year include four season tickets for a year to all Green Bay Packers home games for the 2027-2028 season, with a number of extras, 95 MVP Game Day Experiences, and Packers gift card prizes. Players can participate in the Bonus Drawing by mailing in $5 worth of non-winning Packers Fast Play Lotto or scratch tickets.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Long-Running Seahawks Partnership Pays Off for Washington’s Lottery
When the Seattle Seahawks won their second Super Bowl last February (the first was in 2014), an estimated one million fans lined the streets for the championship parade. For Washington’s Lottery, that moment was not just a celebration, but the latest chapter in a partnership that goes back to the very ground the team plays on – in 2000, the first “build the stadium” lottery ticket was tied to the development of the Seahawks’ new stadium, now named Lumen Field. Twenty-six years later, the partnership is still delivering for lottery players and Seahawks fans across Washington.
A brand new campaign launched on August 10, with the launch of the new Seattle Seahawks scratch ticket for the 2026-2027 season. The campaign theme is Fan Like You’ve Been There Before, showcasing everything the partnership makes possible, with season-long gameday experiences for fans.
“It’s a perfect partnership,” says the Lottery’s Assistant Director of Marketing Kathi Patnode. Washington’s Lottery develops and operates the Seahawks scratch ticket, with instant prizes up to $50,000, a season-long promotion with three second-chance drawings, and an integrated marketing campaign across broadcast, radio, social, out-of-home, and retail, created with the Lottery’s agency partners at VML.
The Seahawks bring what no lottery could offer on its own: access. From the suite level to the sideline, the partnership unlocks the gameday experiences at the heart of the campaign – giving fans memorable ways to cheer on the Seahawks.
With the Super Bowl trophy back in Seattle and fan energy still high, the goal this year is to channel that fan energy. The creative puts the fan squarely at the center of the story, with Seahawks Legends in a supporting role, and the campaign’s biggest prize is built around living the VIP suite life at the stadium. The campaign line flips a familiar piece of football wisdom on its head: players are told to “act like you’ve been there before” when they reach the end zone and score. Seattle fans have been there – not once, but twice – and they have earned the right to celebrate like it.
Three drawings spread the excitement throughout the season. The first two drawings (September 30 and November 18) each offer four grand prizes of the 12s Suite Experience: suite tickets with an in-suite Legend visit, pre-game field passes on the Seahawks sideline, a Pro Shop shopping experience, autographed memorabilia, a hotel stay, and more. Other prizes include the Ultimate 12s Gameday Package and the Hawks Gameday Package (seven winners of each prize package in each dawing).
The final drawing, January 21, 2027, offers the ultimate prize: Seahawks season tickets for 2027-2028, with two lucky winners.
The new campaign is anchored by TV spots, backed by behind-the-scenes content and highlights featuring Seahawks Legend Richard Sherman coaching fans “how to fan like you’ve been there before” across multiple moments – content that keeps the story alive across social feeds all season long.
With out-of-home placements across the state, the campaign meets fans where they are – from billboards to one distinctly Seattle opportunity: a Washington State Ferries takeover. With almost a quarter of game-day attendance arriving by ferry, the campaign will greet riders on vessels and in terminals across Puget Sound’s busiest routes during a six-week stretch spanning five Seahawks home games, reaching fans during high-dwell commutes when the game-day energy is already building.
“With the 2026-27 campaign launching into the biggest wave of Seahawks enthusiasm in a decade, a twenty-six-year partnership is positioned for its strongest season yet,” exclaims Patnode. “It’s proof that when Washington’s Lottery and the Seahawks partner together, fans win!”
ADVERTISEMENT
Sports and Community Giving in Ontario
This summer, Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) helped Ontarians be part of one of the world’s biggest cultural and sporting moments. As an Official Toronto World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter, OLG launched Our Beautiful Game, a province-wide campaign that combined the energy of the tournament with OLG’s purpose of giving back to communities across Ontario. Through strategic partnerships, OLG turned its sponsorship into opportunities for community impact, customer experiences, and activations that brought Ontarians closer to the game.
The campaign was shaped by meaningful partnerships with the City of Toronto and Ontario Soccer. Through the city’s Soccer for All Legacy program, OLG aligned its Host City Supporter role with a long-term community investment focused on expanding access to the game, while Ontario Soccer helped connect that vision to grassroots soccer in communities across the province. Thanks to OLG players, these organizations will support the training of more than 11,000 coaches and match officials across Ontario over the next two years. This commitment was celebrated during OLG’s Guinness World Records title achievement for the Largest Game of Human Foosball, which brought 254 Ontarians, including partner representatives, together in a life-sized version of the classic table game.
OLG’s sponsorship also created opportunities for players and fans to connect with the world’s biggest soccer tournament in different ways. The launch of OLG’s The Beautiful Game soccer-themed scratch ticket gave players a tournament-inspired way to participate while supporting OLG’s giveback to the province. And as the world came to Ontario, OLG also gave players the opportunity to see the world through The Beautiful Getaway second chance contest, which offered a chance to win a $100,000 travel experience. Beyond player experiences, the campaign celebrated the diversity of Ontario fans and communities through OLG’s iconic WinTone, recorded in 15 languages representing the countries participating in the tournament.
As an Official Toronto World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter, OLG was also able to connect with fans through activations at FIFA Fan Festival Toronto, including a high-energy kick-to-win foosball experience and a chance to win prizes. Beyond Fan Festival, OLG also brought the experience to communities across the province through a travelling foosball activation.
OLG amplified awareness with social media influencers during the various parts of the campaign, ensuring a continual rotation of influencers and posts to ensure fresh content at all times. Our Beautiful Game reflected the scale, diversity, and shared joy of the global soccer event.
The Guinness World Records event and title became a major earned media event that drew added attention to the overall campaign, OLG products and ultimately OLG causes, such the long-term investment in soccer coaches and referees. Most importantly, the campaign as a whole demonstrated how strong partnerships can transform a major sports sponsorship into something bigger: a celebration for fans, unique experiences for players and a legacy that reaches well beyond the tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Retail Sampler
The British Columbia Lottery Corp. recently launched its first account-specific ticket in the province in more than 10 years, the 7-RUN ticket. The $5 ticket was available only at 7-Eleven stores and BCLC’s lottery kiosk network. A unique feature of this ticket was that every ticket was a winner, giving players 1:1 odds of receiving a prize. The promotion included three grand prize cash winners, who were then entered into a draw for the final grand prize: a Mustang Mach-E. Unlike other lottery promotions, this vehicle prize could not be exchanged for cash. The ticket offered a standard 1-in-3 chance to win cash, while the remaining 2-in-3 prizes were food items from 7-Eleven, ranging from full pizzas and four-packs of Red Bull to free coffee and Slurpees.
From this ticket, BCLC learned that players respond strongly to high-odds experiences, especially when every ticket delivers a prize. The team also saw that retailer partnerships can meaningfully boost engagement and sales when the offer is tailored to that retail environment. Most importantly, retailer-specific tickets are an effective way to deepen retailer involvement and create a stronger shared investment in the success of the promotion.
The majority of corporate partnerships for the Pennsylvania Lottery occur during the holiday season to support the scratch-off and Millionaire Raffle second-chance drawing promotions. In the last fiscal year, there were 10 promotions across the state throughout November and December. These included collaborations with several top retail partners, including Giant Eagle, Rutter’s, Gerrity’s, Boyer’s, Karns, and Acme.
ADVERTISEMENT
Each promotion offered players the chance to enter a second-chance drawing with the purchase of any holiday scratch-off or Millionaire Raffle ticket. Retailers managed these drawings in-store using simple paper entry forms, and prizes consisted of store gift cards and Lottery promotional scratch-off tickets. The primary goals of these promotions are to drive ticket sales and support retailer commissions. To reinforce the campaigns, the Lottery produced a variety of point-of-sale (POS) materials, such as posters, drawing box toppers, and vending machine signage. Another successful round of holiday promotions is expected during this fiscal year.
In addition to the holiday initiatives, Pennsylvania continues to run a year-round Sheetz promotion that alternates between Powerball and Mega Millions. The objective is again to boost sales: players who purchase any Powerball or Mega Millions ticket (depending on the current promotional focus) are eligible to enter for a $10,000 cash prize provided by Sheetz. This program also supports the Lottery’s retailer incentive initiative, allowing Sheetz to earn commissions for best-practice indoor and outdoor signage across all locations and reinvest those earnings into the promotion.
No Matter the Size, Think Big!
These are just a few samples of what lotteries have achieved – there are many success stories throughout the industry, and lotteries continue to challenge their creative teams to come up with something new. Partnering with local companies and organizations can potentially tap into a dedicated fan base that may not normally think about lottery tickets, encouraging player engagement in new ways. It’s all about working together for mutual benefit.
ADVERTISEMENT
