The National Association of State Lottery Officials (NASPL) reported the sales figures of the state lotteries for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for 2003. Among these states, nine had declining sales. Delaware experienced the steepest decline at 6.8%. Other states saw gains, including West Virginia, Florida, and Puerto Rico, with gains of 27.5% and 21.1%, respectively. Still, the numbers are far from encouraging, with a number of states reporting no change in sales over the past year.
Players with incomes of less than $10,000
For lottery players who earn less than $10,000 a year, winning a prize can be a dream come true. Those in extreme poverty cannot save enough money to meet their future needs and cannot set financial goals. The allure of a large prize can be too strong for them to resist. But, the lottery may be the most effective way for these people to get what they want. Here’s how it works.
In a recent study, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University studied lottery ticket purchases by people who were told they were poor. Participants were twice as likely to buy a lottery ticket than those in a control group. In fact, the study points to the central role that poverty has on lottery ticket purchases. Low-income lottery players are not the only ones with bad financial situations. A study by Carnegie Mellon and the Russell Sage Foundation revealed that lottery players with low incomes play the lottery for different reasons.
The record-breaking jackpot has raised concerns about the types of people who play the lottery. Critics have claimed that it’s a tax on the poor, and studies show that many of these people are from low-income areas. However, a 1999 study shows that people earning less than $10,000 annually spend an average of $600 on lottery tickets – or 6% of their income. These people spend more money on lottery tickets than those with higher incomes, and they are most likely to win if they play often.
Players with annual incomes of less than $10,000
For lottery players with annual incomes under $10,000, the big question is why they do it. A Carnegie Mellon University study published in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making points to the central role of poverty in lottery ticket purchases. The researchers found that participants made to feel poor were twice as likely to purchase lottery tickets than a comparison group. These findings suggest that low income players are more susceptible to lottery fraud than those who have higher incomes.
In the United States, lottery players with annual incomes below $10,000 spend an average of $597 per year on lottery tickets. That’s about six percent of their income. The poorer neighborhoods tend to have more package stores and produce the highest number of winning lottery tickets. This may be why African Americans spend five times as much on lottery tickets as white people. Furthermore, areas with a high concentration of nonwhite people tend to have higher lottery ticket sales than white neighborhoods.