There soon could be a national lottery aimed at the younger generation.
That's because provincial lottery agencies are facing a big problem -- millennials aren't buying lottery tickets nearly as much as their parents do.
The lottery would be aimed at people under 35. They also want to find ways to make ticket-based gambling more attractive to the video-game generation.
"We know that this young adult demographic has changed and that the kinds of games we're offering -- the big lotto games -- are not necessarily as appealing to today's younger adults," said Andrea Marantz, spokeswoman for the Western Canada Lottery Corp., which covers the territories and three Prairie provinces.
"Lottery is like any other kind of consumer product. We have to expend some effort in (research and development) to just keep products relevant."
Statistics on the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s website indicate that among Ontarians who buy lotto tickets at least once a week, only 13 per cent are under 35. The mean age of players who take part at least once a week is 52.
The Interprovincial Lottery Corp., which represents all provincial and territorial lottery agencies, is looking for consultants who can come up with ideas for a new game similar to Lotto 6-49, in which players select numbers.
A request for proposals says the winning consultant will lead "face-to-face brainstorm ... sessions to generate ... ideas for a new, national lottery game that will be attractive to the 18-34-year-old player base."
Another task will be to "analyze and understand provided research that has been completed on the motivations and barriers to play for 18-34 year-old lottery players."
