The Problem with the Lottery
Every year, millions of people flock to their local gas stations and convenience stores to purchase brightly colored tickets in the hopes of winning the jackpot and raking in huge amounts of money. They eagerly wait to see if their chosen numbers will grant them a new life of mansions, traveling, and splendor. In the United States, the lottery has become a fixation, with people spending more on lottery tickets annually than concerts, books, movies, and streaming services combined – despite the fact that the odds of becoming a lucky winner is one in 300 million.
The phenomenon of the lottery is not novel. State sanctioned gambling has existed since the Han Dynasty when earnings were used to help build the Great Wall of China. It emerged in the Roman Empire again to subsidize the restoration of demolished buildings. Lotteries were even cited in the Bible as a method for choosing kings and distributing Jesus’ clothes after the crucifixion. For centuries, lotteries have helped build cities, provide goods to the poor, and fund public projects. In the United States, the lottery was relegalized in the 1960s after its ban in the mid 1800s with the promise of funneling more money towards government services that were being threatened by high inflation and war costs. Now, the lottery is still recognized as a source of extra financing for facilities like schools and parks.
While a portion of the money collected during the lottery is put towards government spending, it is much less than people think and is often not used productively. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, about one percent of annual state revenue is earned through US lotteries. Many states claim to dedicate these savings to education, but in reality it often goes to the state’s general fund, pooling more money into the lottery winner’s payout. When lottery cash is allocated to school programs, studies show that it frequently goes to wealthier school districts where the majority of lottery tickets are not sold.
State lottery vendors are disproportionately located in lower income communities. Flashy signs advertising multi-million dollar rewards adorn retailers’ windows in these areas, enticing the gamble for people struggling for money. A study conducted in the US from 1976 to 1995 found that the increasing popularity of state lotteries contributed significantly to the growth of income inequality in the observed years. Further research has revealed that individuals earning more than fifty thousand dollars annually, on average, only spend one percent of that money on lottery tickets while those making less than that income spend more than 3,500 dollars on the state gamble each year. For many, this is nearly half their savings. These findings are reflected in the United Kingdom and Australia where lotteries are similarly regressive with lower income communities contributing most to the lottery pool, but benefiting the least.
The lottery has two sides: one where a voluntary tax is used to improve public services and a lucky winner goes home with a cash sum, and one where underprivileged people are disproportionately targeted to gamble their incomes for a slim chance at fortune.
Sources:
Barnes, Grace M, John W Welte, Marie-Cecile O Tidwell, and Joseph H Hoffman. “Gambling on the Lottery: Sociodemographic Correlates across the Lifespan.” Journal of gambling studies, December 2011. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103646/.
Franklin, Jonathan. “‘predatory Gambling’ Has Helped the Lottery Reach Sky-High Jackpot, Critics Say.” NPR, November 6, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/02/1132983777/state-lottery-gambling-low-income-minority-communities.
Neuman, Scott. “The Settlers Brought the Lottery to America. It’s Had a Long, Uneven History.” NPR, August 9, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/09/1192893936/mega-millions-powerball-lottery-history-in-america.
Pfeifer, Jay. “Magic Numbers: How to Tilt the Odds of Winning the Lottery, or Powerball Jackpot, in Your Favor.” Davidson EDU, 2023. https://www.davidson.edu/news/2023/07/19/magic-numbers-how-tilt-odds-winning-lottery-or-powerball-jackpot-your-favor.
Schulz, Kathryn. “What We’ve Lost Playing the Lottery.” The New Yorker, October 17, 2022. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/24/what-weve-lost-playing-the-lottery.
Stodghill, Ron, and Ron Nixon. “For Schools, Lottery Payoffs Fall Short of Promises.” The New York Times, October 7, 2007. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/business/07lotto.html.