Thomas Metzger of Lotto.com: Revolutionizing the Lottery from Paper to Phone

In this episode of "CMO Weekly," host Haley Clover interviews Thomas Metzger, Co-founder and CEO of Lotto.com. Thomas Metzger discusses how Lotto.com is revolutionizing the lottery industry by allowing users to order real lottery draw and scratch tickets from their phones. Key points from the episode include:- Lotto.com's Impact Since its launch, Lotto.com has delivered over $100 million in winnings to 3 million users and introduced the nation's first digital scratch ticket. - Background of Thomas Metzger Metzger has a long history in the gaming and lottery industry, having held senior roles at Scientific Games, Camelot, and Bear Stearns. He was introduced to online lotteries during his time at Camelot, the operator of the UK National Lottery, which launched its digital channel in 2009 and saw digital sales grow to nearly 50% by 2024-2025 without cannibalizing retail. - Mission and Strategy Lotto.com's mission is to build a more accessible, secure, and responsible lottery ecosystem for the digital age, without cannibalizing traditional retail lottery sales. They aim to attract incremental players who may not typically play the lottery due to inconvenience or other factors. - Digital Scratch Tickets Metzger explains the proprietary process behind Lotto.com's digital scratch tickets, where physical tickets are scanned and digitally covered, allowing users to "scratch" them on their phones or computers. - Marketing Approach Lotto.com spends over 90% of its marketing budget on digital channels like Google and Facebook, targeting a younger, wealthier, and digitally native demographic that state lotteries typically don't reach. This approach provides incremental marketing dollars for lotteries. - Future of Lottery Metzger predicts that in five years, more states will have both state-run online lottery sales and lottery carriers like Lotto.com, catering to different customer segments and expanding the digital footprint of the lottery industry. - Philanthropic Aspect A significant portion of lottery proceeds goes to good causes like public education, which Metzger emphasizes as a core benefit of the lottery system. #marketing #cmoweekly #podcastinterview