The loop

There is clearly a demand for playing the lottery. But low-income people spend more of their income on the lottery than other income groups.

• A solution would be to stop marketing and advertising lotteries that target the poor.
• States could promote and offer more games...

The lottery is cheap permission to dream about the possibility of a better life. Most players know they won't win. 

People without lots of money are more likely to participate in lotteries. On average, households that make less than $12,400 a year spend 5 % of their income on stat...

Players, and shoppers in general, think myopically about the purchase being made.

If they spend $1 buying one ticket while waiting for their turn at the supermarket checkout counter, they may buy five or six tickets in a month. However, if they ‘bracket’ their purchase together and co...