Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted March 29, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted March 29, 2019 A lot. Last year Americans spent a total of $73.5 billion on traditional lottery tickets, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. Add in electronic lottery games and that figure is $80 billion. Lottery spending may be huge -- but most Americans don't actually play, according to Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of Holy Cross and an expert on lotteries. Despite that fact, an average $325 a year is wagered on lottery tickets for every adult in the United States. Matheson adds that low income players spend a much larger percentage of their income on tickets than wealthy players. About 63% of the money that's spent on lottery tickets was paid out in prizes. "It's almost certainly inefficient. You spend a lot of money on marketing and administration in order to collect that money," said Matheson. But he said governments like it because, "it's one of the only taxes out there you get people to volunteer to pay." "A professor of mine used to say raising tax money is all about plucking the most feathers off of the goose with the least amount of squawking," he said. "The lottery is the best way to do that." https://money.cnn.com/2017/08/24/news/economy/lottery-spending/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member steve from amherst Posted March 29, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted March 29, 2019 It,s a stupidity tax. Or cheap entertainment, depends on how one looks at it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmo Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Spot on for the low income thing. Go in any store in the city on the 3rd when they get the govt check and they’re lined up at the counter. Dumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamgreen02 Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 I buy a couple Powerball tickets every year when the jackpot gets way up there. Probably spend less than $5 a year on them. Stayed at the casino in Grand Portage last week. Never even went over to the casino side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSFB Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 I think I have bought tickets three times. It really is a stupid tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwytohell Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 When the old guy owned the Pine Stump Bar ( then it was the pine dump bar ) , I watched a guy purchase $120 dollars worth of scratch off lottery tickets , he won $ 2.00 dollars . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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