Lottery Gambling and Its Impact on Low-Income and Minority Groups

Lottery gambling is a popular pastime, especially among young adults. According to the 1996 Consumer Expenditure Survey, lottery sales constituted 32% of all gambling revenue. In addition, lottery profits are the largest source of government revenue from gambling. But the lottery industry has also generated considerable controversy, particularly with respect to its impact on low-income households and minorities.

The origins of the modern state lottery can be traced to the fourteen-hundreds, when the practice was first popular in the Low Countries. Local authorities used the proceeds of lottery drawings to build town fortifications and provide charity for the poor. By the seventeen-hundreds, lotteries had spread to England, where they became common despite Protestant proscriptions against gambling and dice play. They also helped finance European settlement of America.

Historically, state lotteries have been little more than traditional raffles, with participants buying tickets for future drawings that may occur weeks or months in the future. But innovations in the 1970s reshaped the industry. One of these was the development of daily numbers games, which were modeled on the illegal numbers games that had been prevalent in cities across the country. These allowed patrons to choose their own numbers, giving them a greater sense of involvement while allowing them to know that day if they had won.

Moreover, these new games tended to attract lower-income and minority groups, who had traditionally played fewer lottery games than whites. As a result, the growth of the lottery industry has been accompanied by concerns that it is promoting gambling among vulnerable groups, increasing opportunities for problem gamblers, and disproportionately benefiting poorer people.