Here’s a stat that might surprise lottery executives: only 1% of UK lottery participants belong to Gen Z, despite the generation making up 7% of the population. YouGov consumer data revealed this gap, and it’s not an anomaly. Gallup found similar patterns in the United States, where roughly one-third of 18 to 24 year-olds have ever bought a lottery ticket. Compare that to adults over 50, where nearly two-thirds participate.
So where did all the young gamblers go?
They didn’t disappear. They just found something better. The $96.6 billion sneaker market has quietly built its own lottery system, one that actually makes sense to a generation raised on Instagram drops and resale apps.
What Traditional Lotteries Got Wrong
Scratch-offs have one thing going for them: the potential payout. That’s it. No story, no community, no flex. You win or you don’t, and either way nobody cares.
Gen Z cares deeply about the “why” behind purchases. A sneaker raffle hits different because it bundles multiple rewards together. There’s the product itself (often worth more than retail the moment you get it). There’s the bragging rights. And there’s the content opportunity, because unboxing a pair of Travis Scott Jordans gets engagement in ways a winning scratch-off never could.
Harvard Business School published research showing how scarcity changes the way we value things. Limited supply triggers something primal. Sneaker brands figured this out years ago and built entire release strategies around it.
The Numbers Paint a Clear Picture
The U.S. sneaker resale market should hit $6 billion by the end of 2025. More aggressive projections put it at $30 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, lottery participation among young adults has basically flatlined for a decade. The contrast is striking.
StockX data from 2024 showed Travis Scott x Jordan collabs averaging $451 on resale. That’s a 197% premium over retail. Most lottery players would kill for those kinds of returns on a $2 investment.
And Gen Z has money to spend. Current estimates put their collective buying power around $143 billion, with NielsenIQ projecting this to reach $12 trillion globally by 2030. They’re not broke; they’re just extremely picky about where those dollars go. Every purchase needs to justify itself.
It’s About Belonging, Not Just Winning
The European Lotteries organization actually held a workshop in Reykjavík to figure out how to attract younger players. The takeaway was pretty damning for traditional lottery products: Gen Z wants experiences that reflect who they are. Buying tickets at a gas station counter doesn’t really do that.
Sneaker collecting culture already solved this problem. The whole scene runs on shared knowledge, trading networks, and social proof. Winning a raffle doesn’t just get you shoes. It gets you credibility. People notice when you’re wearing something that sold out in 47 seconds.
GOAT, StockX, and similar platforms turned sneakers into tradeable assets with transparent pricing. Young collectors track their shoe portfolios the same way older generations watch retirement accounts. There’s genuine financial literacy happening here, wrapped in streetwear packaging.
Smarter Odds, Lower Stakes
Gen Z grew up with Google. They know lottery odds are terrible, and they’ve done the math on mega-jackpot probabilities. The risk-reward calculation just doesn’t work for most of them.
Sneaker raffles flip this equation. Sure, scoring a hyped release is tough. But losing a raffle costs nothing except time. Lose a lottery ticket and that money’s gone forever. Big difference in downside exposure.
McKinsey’s consumer research confirms that Gen Z will absolutely splurge when the emotional payoff justifies the price. They’re not anti-spending. They’re anti-wasting money on things that don’t deliver meaning alongside the purchase.
Where This Leaves Traditional Lotteries
Sneaker brands accidentally built a better lottery. The prizes hold value (sometimes they appreciate significantly over time). The entry process creates shareable content. And the community transforms individual wins into shared cultural moments that ripple across social media.
Lottery organizations could learn something here. Gen Z isn’t opposed to luck-based rewards at all. They just expect the chase itself to be worth something, even when they don’t win. The experience matters as much as the outcome.
The scratch-off ticket isn’t going extinct anytime soon. But for younger consumers raised on limited drops and authenticated resale markets, it’s facing competition nobody saw coming. And right now, the sneakers are winning. For more information, click here.