Diving Into The Lottery ‘Pools’ Feature With Jackpocket CEO Peter Sullivan

Since long before the advent of iLottery apps, even since long before cell phones or personal computers, lottery players have embraced the idea of pooling resources with others to increase their chances of winning.

In the modern age, digital lottery courier Jackpocket is catering to that audience with a feature called “Pools.” These Jackpocket Pools give customers more chances to win, with technology aiding the process as they split winnings with others.

In the old days, co-workers would each contribute a few bucks to the office Powerball pool, hoping one of the tickets they purchased would be a big winner. But what if Sally from accounting, who always chipped in, was sick the day her co-workers bought a jackpot-winning ticket? An argument over whether she is entitled to a piece of the winnings could drag out for years and even end up costing everyone legal fees.

With Jackpocket Pools, such controversies can be avoided. To learn more about the feature, Lottery Geeks spoke to Peter Sullivan, Jackpocket’s co-founder and CEO.  

What are pools?

In a nutshell, the Pools feature allows people, publicly or privately, to team up with others to buy digital lottery tickets to a specific draw — including the major U.S. lotteries, Powerball and Mega Millions. Customers must buy a ticket to contribute to a pool, just like they would with co-workers at the office.

Sullivan honed in on a specific Pools feature that some people would like.

“For a more personal experience, friends, family, and colleagues can play together in invitation-only Private Pools,” Sullivan said. “Each Private Pool member can contribute as many ticket entries as they’d like. The more entries you contribute, the bigger your slice of the prize if the pool has a winner.”

What makes Jackpocket’s system preferable to forming pools on your own? Sullivan had this to say: 

“No matter how you choose to pool, Jackpocket does all the work for you. The app keeps track of who contributes what and splits the winnings accordingly, and sends your share of the prize directly to your Jackpocket account.”

Sullivan said the idea simply sprung up when Jackpocket was looking for ways to offer more to its customers, and they ran with it from there.

“Joining a lottery pool is a popular pastime, but it’s no secret they can be cumbersome to organize and manage, even more so when you win,” Sullivan said. “With Jackpocket Pools, we play all roles: organizer, manager, winnings coordinator, and more. Players don’t have to worry about holding onto their tickets, checking them, or receiving prizes because Jackpocket manages it all for them.”

This can help eliminate the arguments about who contributed what or whose turn it is to buy all the tickets.

Who uses the pools feature?

One drawback to Jackpocket Pools is that because it is an iLottery product, there will be a barrier to entry for some customers, particularly those in older demographics. Those customers may still prefer the old-school approach to a lottery ticket pool.

Sullivan admits there are some age-specific trends in the customer base.

“Just like our core lottery product, we’ve had great success connecting with a younger demographic that is more comfortable with technology and values the ability to participate in the lottery from the convenience of their smartphone or computer,” Sullivan said. “In fact, over 65 percent of Jackpocket’s users are aged 45 and under, whereas, for traditional lottery players, the majority of people are between the ages of 45-54.”

Do Bigger Jackpots Mean More Pool Play?

The Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots were recently each over $1 billion. So did that lead to higher volume of Pools use?

“Our Jackpocket Pools feature is particularly impactful for lottery fans when the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots reach historic highs,” Sullivan said. “In fact, during recent back-to-back $1 billion jackpot runs, we saw Public Pools with upwards of 15,000 members.”

To be clear, he is saying the app was attracting 15,000-plus members for a single pool. 

Which states generate the most action?

According to Sullivan, the Pools feature is live in 15 of the 19 jurisdictions in which Jackpocket is active. Although each jurisdiction sees its fair share of action, especially when the draws reach historic highs, these are the top three states that have the most Private Pool groups and the order is the exact same for Public Pools:

1. Texas
2. Ohio
3. Massachusetts

Massachusetts and Texas being among the top dogs in both categories is not surprising based on past research on broader lottery participation. Ohio is starting to inch its way up, as many iLottery and iGaming services have been seeing more activity in the “meme state.”

Any big wins to report?

These pools sound like a fine way to get in the game at minimal risk, but has any pool won anything of substance? Something that would entice potential customers to buy into one? Sullivan said, yes, there have been some significant winners.

“Both the Ohio and Colorado Public Pools have hit it big in the last six months. The Colorado Powerball Pool shared a $50,000 prize after the Christmas Day drawing. The Ohio Powerball Pool also shared a $50,000 windfall in the October 2, 2023 drawing. 

“Minnesota has been lucky, too: the ‘Gopher Pool’ with three members shared a $50,000 Powerball prize together.”

On a broad scale, with all of Jackpocket’s features in mind, Sullivan said, “We’re introducing the lottery to a new audience and offering players a convenient, fun, and safe way to play from their mobile phone or computer.” He noted Jackpocket users have won over $450 million in total lottery prizes to date, with 45 people winning prizes of $1 million or more.

Those are some numbers Sally from accounting sure would like a piece of.