Who Plays the Lottery? Findings from New Jersey Lottery Sales

Abstract

Despite the very unfavorable odd, many people play the game all over the world and the number of participants appears to be growing. Researchers have performed empirical tests relating lottery sales to variables such as income, education, age, ethnicity, among others. However, there is no clear consensus on who these players are. In this paper, we attempt to provide a clearer profile of lottery players. In addition, we are also interested in learning who is driving the growth in lottery sales. According to our preliminary results, we find the following very interesting and insightful results. First, it appears that female tends to purchase lotteries than their male counterpart, especially younger and older segments of the population. Second, families living with below average income level appear to purchase more lottery tickets while families at the top of income level do the opposite. In addition, as the family income level rises from below average to a high level, lottery sales decline. Third, increases in the proportion of non-White population in the area leads to a greater increase in lottery sales. The greatest impact comes from the Black population. Lastly, as residents’ education level increases, from HS degree to graduate degree, his/her demand for lottery games decline.