Are you looking for some ideas to strike it rich with a lottery partner?

Dave Wedge of the Boston Herald recently featured a great piece on Massachusetts State Lottery (MSL) distributing thousands of dollars worth of free tickets to local bar and store owners as perks and to encourage them to "push" sports related lottery games. The Lottery even gave fourteen (14) agents a total of 28 tickets to Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Boston, including seven (7) sets of luxury suites and four (4) floor seats... Agents have also received Red Sox luxury box seats, tickets to fantasy camps to play ball with members of the Red Sox and Celtics, and seats at VIP brunches with players.

In total, the Massachusetts State Lottery has distributed over $340,000 in sports tickets to local agents, an initiative that is part of an overall strategy to compensate local agents who help drive millions of dollars in sales. MSL lottery spokesman Dan Rosenfeld considers the strategy "critical" to their success. All tickets were purchased from the teams by the Lottery, demonstrating that you do not have to have the Lottery as an official team partner to still pocket some of their business.

However, there are many teams who have developed innovative ways to leverage "the lottery", including:

• The Massachusetts State Lottery underwrited the Boston Celtics' 2008 playoff run (which explains how the lottery was able to get access to premier seats at the Garden). In '06, the Lottery launched a "Boston Celtics Green" $5 instant-win ticket that offered cash, Celtics season tickets, and team merchandise as prizes

• In March, the Massachusetts State Lottery launched a new $20 Red Sox-themed scratch-off ticket (which complements existing $5/$10 Red Sox lottery tickets)
• The MSL Red Sox lottery games generate $200-300M in revenue annually
• Chances of winning are 4-1 that a consumer can win a prize worth the same or more than the cost of a ticket
• Potential Prizes include: Red Sox season tickets for life and ten (10) sets of tickets to every Yankees-Red Sox series over the next decade
• *In 2004, the team sold a sponsorship of the World Series Trophy to the Massachusetts State Lottery
• At least ten (10) MLB franchises are selling licensed MLB "Instant Win Lottery Tickets" at their ballparks, and both teams and leagues are tapping into this new strategy as a new revenue source.
• Teams include: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, LA Dodgets, SF Giants, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and the Milwaukee Brewers
• The New York Yankees capitalized on their cross-town rivalry with the NY Mets by creating a "Subway Series" instant scratch-off ticket.
• The Memphis Grizzlies distributed 50,000 ping pong antenna balls to fans looking to show their support for luck during the 2007 NBA Lottery (a great Lottery tie-in). The antenna balls were distributed at the team's last two (2) home games and were available at Sonic area locations (tie-in retail partner) and the Grizzlies Den Team Store.

• The Minnesota Twins partnered with the Minnesota State Lottery to launch the Minnesota Twins Scratch Game in 2007. The $5 game featured a top prize of $100,000 and also rewarded consumers with lower level season tickets and trips to the team's 2008 spring training in Ft. Myers, FL.

• In 2006, The Illinois Lottery hosted a "Set for Life" event at Wrigley Field prior to a Chicago Cubs game where they awarded one winner with $100,000/year for the rest of her life. The event was for contestants who mailed in $30 of nonwinning instant tickets.

• Phoenix International Raceway teamed up with the Arizona Lottery to offer $3 tickets featuring the likeness of a few NASCAR drivers. The tickets rewards fans with trips to the NASCAR race and other race discounts

• In 2008, The D.C. and Virginia Lotteries teamed up to offer a $2 Washington Nationals scratcher ticket. Prizes ranged from $2 to $5,000 in cash and gave consumers the chance to enter a "2nd Chance Drawing" for an opportunity to win tickets and Nationals merchandise.

• The Georgia State Lottery offers a "Braves Baseball Suite Promotion", offering consumers in the state of Georgia the chance to win a luxury suite private party for fourteen (14) at a Braves game with purchase of a $5 Fantasy 5 Ticket (www.galottery.com/bravessuite). The promotion awards 25 suite nights - five (5) winners/week for five (5) weeks... A great way to capitalize on suite/ticket inventory!