Who Plays Lotteries?

Who buys lottery tickets?

A recent Gallup Poll on Gambling in America found that:

-57% of American adults reported buying lottery tickets in the past 12 months.

-Those with incomes of $45,000 to $75,000 were the most likely to play (65 percent had played in the past year)

-Those with incomes under $25,000 were the least likely to play at 53 percent.

-People with incomes in excess of $75,000 spend roughly three times as much on lotteries each month as those with incomes under $25,000.

Don't most lottery sales come from a relatively small number of people?

As with any product or service, some people are more enthusiastic consumers than others. Business schools teach marketing students the 'pareto principle:' the idea that no matter what the product, 80 percent of the sales will come from 20 percent of the customers. Lotteries are no different.

Are those who play the lottery most often poor and undereducated?

No. Numerous studies conducted in a wide range of jurisdictions show that frequent or 'heavy' lottery players closely resemble the overall population of that state or province. They are no more likely to be poor or have little formal education than a citizen selected at random.

What about that New York study?

This 'study' that showed that the lowest income areas had the highest per capita lottery sales, was a simple correlation between ticket sales and per capita income by zip code. The newspaper reporter who prepared it failed to realize that the zip codes with the highest sales and lowest incomes were in fact commercial districts with large numbers of ticket-buying workers and very few full-time residents. In fact, the zip code with the highest sales and lowest income was the Wall Street financial district. This study, like others of its kind, failed to recognize that people buy tickets where they work, shop, vacation, or other places other than where they live.

Do poor people spend a higher percentage of their incomes on lottery tickets?

Poor people spend a larger proportion of their income than wealthy people on any item having a fixed price and general appeal. Poor people pay proportionately more for food, medicine, clothing, utilities, insurance, and housing, as well as for payroll and sales taxes. People who are well-off, on the other hand, spend a higher percentage of their income on things that the poor cannot afford, such as overseas vacations or season tickets to cultural or sporting events. The rich also invest and gamble in stock and commodity markets -- also activities the poor cannot afford.

Should the government keep those with less money from spending it on the lottery?

Economically disadvantaged people are no less capable of making a decision on how to spend a dollar than those of greater means. Furthermore, they are entitled to the same opportunities for entertainment and recreation as everyone else. Society in the U.S. and Canada does not usurp rights and privileges based on socioeconomic status.

Buying Online Lottery Tickets

Unfortunately at the present time most US lotteries do not sell online lottery tickets. Most lottery experts say that players will be able to buy lotto tickets online in the near future.