Relationships between socio-economic status and lottery gambling across lottery types: neighborhood-level evidence from a large city.

Abstract

Lottery gambling participation tends to be higher among lower socio-economic status (SES) individuals, but it is unclear how this relationship differs as a function of lottery type. We estimated how the relationship between SES and lottery gambling rates varies across different types of lottery gambling: fixed-prize, progressive-prize (jackpot) and instant-win (scratch card) lottery tickets in a large Canadian city. Neighborhood-level lottery purchase data obtained from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission were analysed in conjunction with demographic data. Mixed-effects regression was used to assess simultaneously how neighborhood-level SES predicts per-person lottery gambling rates across fixed-prize, progressive-prize lottery and instant-win lotteries. Neighborhoods in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the years 2012-15. Per-capita sales in dollars (CAD) of fixed-prize lottery, progressive-prize lottery and instant-win tickets in Toronto postal codes. SES was estimated as a composite of income, years of education and white-collar employment. Lower-SES neighborhoods engaged in higher rates of lottery gambling overall [β=-0.084, standard error (SE)=0.24, P=0.0007]. The predictive effect of SES varied significantly by lottery type (fixed-prize: β=-0.105, SE=0.004, P<0.0001, instant-win: β=-0.054, SE=0.004, P<0.0001; relative to progressive-prize). The predictive effect of SES was strongest for fixed-prize lotteries and weakest for progressive-prize lotteries, such that we did not observe a significant predictive effect of SES for progressive-prize lotteries (β=-0.031, SE=0.024, P=0.198). People in lower socio-economic status neighborhoods in Toronto, Canada appear to engage in more lottery gambling than those in higher socio-economic status neighborhoods, with the difference being largest for fixed prize lotteries followed by instant win lotteries, and no clear difference for progressive prize lotteries.