“Keep on scratching'!”

Anyone who has lived in Pennsylvania long enough has heard this iconic slogan for our state lottery. It is spoken by Gus, the “Second most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania,” who serves as the PA Lottery’s mascot. He’s often shown happily conversing with human friends and pulling out scratch-off tickets to share with them. Lottery games with colorful images and exciting themes are presented as a source of good, clean fun. Players are lured in with the promise of a chance to win thousands, even millions of dollars. And even if they do not win, they are assured that their ticket purchase helps to fund services for elderly Pennsylvanians. It sounds like a good deal for everyone, right?

Forty-five states currently run lotteries within their jurisdictions. The purpose for these lotteries is to be an additional source of government revenue, separate from taxation. How the money is used varies from state to state, and helps to fund education and scholarships, state parks and other programs and services.

 In Pennsylvania, lottery revenue funds programs that serve senior citizens within the Commonwealth. These programs include free and discounted public transportation, property tax and rent rebates, lower cost prescription drugs, and care services. According to the official website for the Pennsylvania lottery, ticket sales have raised over $35.1 billion for these programs since 1972. During the 2022-23 fiscal year alone, $1.1 billion were raised for senior programs. An even larger sum of money was distributed to lucky winning players, totaling $3.3 billion and $772.3 million for traditional and online players, respectively. These numbers, when viewed in isolation, paint state lotteries in a positive light. 

Who would not want to help senior citizens while also getting a chance of a big win? Well, we should also consider the psychology, statistics, and demographic trends behind lottery revenue to see the underlying issues with this method of fund-raising. 

Let’s not sugarcoat it: lotteries are a form of gambling. In fact, they are one of the most common and accessible forms of gambling, with tickets being sold at countless grocery stores and gas stations to anyone 18 or older. Every scratch-off or Powerball ticket is a game of chance where the most common outcome is a monetary loss. This is how all commercial gambling works, and why it is even profitable in the first place.

 The overall payout to winners must be less than the total amount of income from ticket sales. The difference is used to pay vendor’s’ commissions, recoup operating costs, and, of course, fund the beneficial government programs often mentioned in advertisements. Therefore, the majority of tickets are not winners (which you probably knew already). Small wins of a few dollars are common, but these sometimes do not even cover the cost of the ticket itself. What these small wins really do is give players a rush of dopamine, which they may chase again by buying another ticket. The more tickets a person buys, the more money they lose in total over time.

 As for the “big wins,” the odds are far more slim, but are still quite tempting. Just as with other forms of gambling, players with a behavioral addiction to lottery games will chase their losses, buying more tickets in hopes of getting back all of the money they lost. Many people all over the country find themselves trapped in a pit they dug themselves, and then struggle to climb out. 

The Mayo Clinic defines gambling disorder, also called compulsive gambling, as “the uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the toll it takes on your life.” It also states that gambling can activate the reward system of the brain in a similar way to drugs and alcohol. The addictive nature of gambling is common knowledge in the field of psychology, and state governments are also aware of it. Likely a tactic to avoid liability, advertisements for lottery games and other forms of gambling feature the number for the state’s gambling addiction helpline (which is, ironically, often funded by the lottery itself).

Well then, if gambling addiction resources are freely available to the public, then surely the potential harm of the lottery is mitigated, right? The consumer is well informed and can reach out for help if their gambling starts to become problematic. Ideally, players would play lottery games only under circumstances where they can afford it and will recognize excessive gambling for what it is.

An unfortunate truth is that the very nature of a lottery is bound to attract lower-income people.; It provides a sliver of hope that circumstances will change for the better. The lottery ticket appears as a ticket to the good life, where paying bills on time is never a struggle, and a grocery cart can be filled to the brim without hesitation. Everyone wants a stable, comfortable life with freedom to pursue one’s passions, but this is only possible when one has enough wealth. The lottery ticket beckons the impoverished with promises of this reward. This is why many argue that the gambling industry exploits the hopes and dreams of those in poverty, referring to it as a “tax on the poor.” Upper-income people, on the other hand, have less motivation to play the lottery simply because they have few to no unmet needs.

Supporters of the lottery industry deny that lower-income people are more susceptible to getting hooked on the lottery. They argue that the narrative of lotteries being a poverty tax is an uncharitable view, painting the poor as naïve and stripping them of agency. After all, everyone who plays the lottery must be at least 18, a legal adult. People who choose to buy tickets should have the sense to know that it is just a game, and that they should not count on it as a way to put food on the table. However, it is arguably naïve itself to count on everyone to behave rationally and exercise fiscal responsibility. Even the most intelligent people are liable to make irrational decisions out of stress or desperation, as it is part of being human. As a culture, we tend to emphasize the responsibility of individuals to make wise choices and have self-restraint. When it is suggested that this is not enough to fix some societal problem, the suggestion is dismissed as an attempt to suppress individual liberty. 

This can be seen in the discourse surrounding tobacco products, fattening foods and other consumer products that are said to contribute to broader societal ills. Undoubtedly, freedom of choice is something we value as Americans. At the same time, we know that some people are more vulnerable to developing addictions due to a number of factors. If state governments are taking advantage of the mentally and emotionally vulnerable for funding, then should not we be concerned? Many argue that, as a nation, we should strive to fight inequality and social problems as a way to strengthen our freedom by breaking the chains of generational poverty. When looking from this perspective, we must account for fallible, emotionally driven behavior by examining the available data on lottery ticket sales.

One piece of evidence the pro-lottery camp points to is a Gallup Survey from June of 2016. The survey found that low-income Americans, defined as having a household income of less than $36,000 per year, were significantly less likely to have purchased a lottery ticket than those of higher income during the same time span. However, the survey does not take into account how much each player spends on lottery tickets.

According to the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, the Massachusetts State Lottery commissioned a study during the same year that revealed a disproportionate contribution by heavy gamblers. It showed that 40% of sales came from the top 10% of players, with the average top player having reported spending almost $200 a week on their habit. Considering that the average U.S. rent payment in 2016 was about $1,000 per month, that is a lot to be spending on the lotto. Two years prior to that, South Carolina commissioned its own study on lottery players and found that players with a household income of less than $35,000 a year spent more than double what higher-income players did on games. However, these statistics are obscured by feel-good messaging in lottery advertisements.

The irony of lottery revenue is that it risks cannibalizing the same populations that lottery-funded programs are intended to help. If a teenager in Georgia receives a scholarship that was funded by his or her parent’s financially devastating gambling addiction, then what is the net gain for society? In theory, the lottery should be played in moderation by those with sufficient disposable income. Instead, it is those who can least afford it who are contributing a disproportionately high amount of their income to the lottery.

More people are wising up to the uncomfortable reality of state lotteries, denouncing them as predatory institutions. At the same time, the fiscal and political benefits of these state lotteries are clear as day. People will pay their taxes, even if begrudgingly, because it is legally required of them. When any type of tax hike is suggested to balance the budget or fund new programs, there is always a group of outraged citizens who will oppose it. 

The magic of the lottery is that it compels people to willingly hand their money to the government without the threat of prosecution. What would otherwise be considered an underwhelming donation to a public cause is made into an exciting pastime. In addition, lotteries do create well-paying jobs, with roles ranging from technicians and data analysts to warehouse workers. Many people are required to orchestrate and undertake the lottery sales and distribution process, providing employment for thousands of Americans.

On top of that, many argue that society might as well turn the common practice of gambling into a force for the public good. People have been gambling for millennia around the world, regardless of and despite any laws forbidding it. Just as prohibition did not stop Americans from drinking, eliminating lotteries and other legal forms of gambling will not stop people from doing so among their friends. After all, if the money cannot go to government programs, it will line the pockets of those in criminal organizations instead.

The current reality is that gambling is becoming increasingly normalized in America. From the legalization of sports betting in many states to the advent of online slot games, it is easier than ever to bet your hard-earned money with little thought. This is not a sermon on the evil of gambling or a condemnation of using games-of-change as a source of government revenue. This also is not apologia on behalf of the industry. The vital takeaway here is that to be informed citizens, we must examine the full impact that government action and policy has on our lives and communities. If you do choose to spend your money on lottery games, all that I ask is that you play responsibly. 

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