By M. Scott Bowen, Commissioner
Be prepared for some serious Lottery business this summer as new Instant games coming on the market have plenty to offer Lottery players!
The Michigan Lottery will launch a new instant game on June 4 that includes a variety of features that players – and the Lottery industry – have never seen before.
The $2 Raise The Stakes™ ticket, which includes over $7 million in total instant-win cash prizes, also includes 150 second chance drawings with prizes totaling over $300,000. The game also provides players with both a web site, RaiseStakes.com, and free mobile app from which they can create and join teams with other players in order to pool their entries. Players will also be given access to various social media tools, to engage with their friends and Raise The Stakes teammates.
Each Raise The Stakes ticket has a stub with a unique entry code, worth one to 60 entries, hidden beneath the latex. Codes can be submitted through either the web site or the mobile app. Be sure to remind players that if they have the mobile app, they can choose to quickly scan the QR code on the ticket to automatically submit their entries rather than entering it manually.
Raise The Stakes will have 140 drawings, with five winners selected each day, to win $100! Remind players that entering their codes can lead to cash in their pockets!
In addition to the daily drawings, there will be 10 progressive jackpot drawings during the Raise the Stakes promotional period. Players can choose to keep their entries for themselves or assign them to a team for a shot at increasing their chances to win! Every entry the player or a team member submits raises the potential progressive jackpot prize by $500 and 60 entries to “raise the stakes” to the maximum prize of $30,000! In each drawing, if the entry selected was assigned to an individual, then that individual wins the entire progressive jackpot. If the entry selected was assigned to a team, then each member of the team receives $500 for each entry he or she contributed.
Team participation, a very new element for Lottery play, increases a player’s potential progressive jackpot faster, it also increases the chances of winning. Encourage your players to use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to invite friends or open their team to anyone who might want to join. Players can also use social media to chat with team members as they get closer to their jackpot goal and to celebrate their winnings!
Raise The Stakes definitely takes Instant play to a whole new level and your customers may have questions. I encourage you to visit the game’s web site, www.raisestakes.com, to familiarize yourself with the games components. And be sure to watch the Raise The Stakes video at http://youtu.be/s8BNJjr4CuM. It is not only entertaining, but informative as well!
This game is sure to generate a lot of interest and excitement for our players because it provides so many winning opportunities. The daily drawing prizes of $100 and the progressive jackpot prizes—with a winner’s amount determined by his or her contributions to the team effort—will be awarded to players via email in the form of a voucher. Like any Lottery Instant ticket, you can redeem a voucher of up to and including $600. To cash these vouchers simply press the “Coupon” key on the home screen of the Lottery terminal and select “Instant Coupon”. Scan the bar code on the voucher and then enter the underlined 5-digit number through the terminal or manually validate by using the Instant ticket validation procedure. Be sure to welcome these vouchers from players because if you don’t, another retailer will. And that means lost cashing commission for you!
SKEE BALL: The fun continues with the Lottery’s Skee Ball promotion, which starts with the sale of the $2 Skee Ball on July 2. Through December 20, participants who log into their Player’s Club account at wwwmichiganlottery.com or directly access the Skee Ball promotional web site at SkeeBallChallenge.com can submit the code found on non-winning tickets and then play the Skee Ball Challenge game. Point out to players that the code will be the eight digit number concealed beneath the scratch material on the ticket.
At the conclusion of each Skee Ball Challenge game, the participant’s score will be added to a leaderboard. Every seven (7) days during the promotional period, the participant(s) with the highest score will be awarded $100 worth of free instant tickets and the leaderboard will be reset.
One of the unique feature about the Skee Ball promotion is that it also encourages Fantasy 5 play. Fantasy 5 tickets sold between July 2 and July 29 will have a special code that players can enter into the Skee Ball promotion as well. The code will be a unique 19-digit number located directly below the bar code on the Fantasy 5 ticket. So when you sell a Fantasy 5 ticket, be sure to remind players of the Skee Ball opportunities they have with that ticket. Likewise, when you sell a Skee Ball ticket, let players know that for another $1 they can purchase another entry into the promotion as well as a chance to win a Fantasy 5 cash prize.
Retailers will also notice that at various times early in the promotion they will see ESMM monitor messages and promotional language printed on all draw game tickets.
SUMMER EVENT SCHEDULE: Lottery players will be able to purchase both of these games not just from you, but from our mobile sales unit as it travels throughout the state to various events.
- Coast West Festival – Muskegon, July 1-July 6
- Detroit Tigers Comerica Park – Detroit, July 9 and 10 and July 12-July 14
- Ann Arbor Art Fair – Ann Arbor, July 17-July 20
- Sterling Fest – Sterling Heights, July 25 – July 27
NEW INSTANT TICKETS: In addition to the Skee Ball™ (IG 657) on July 2, retailers will also see ($1) Cash It In™ IG 652 and ($10) Black & Gold™ IG 640.
INSTANT TICKETS SET TO EXPIRE: Expiring on July 1 are IG 472 Money Magnet™ ($1) and IG 489 Bejeweled™ ($2).
