Gambling on the Lottery

Lottery gambling is a major regressive tax on lower-income households. It is alleged that lottery games are designed to promote addictive gambling behavior. There are also concerns about the negative effects of new lotteries.

Gambling on the lottery can lead to financial ruin. It violates Christian stewardship, a principle that a person should use his or her possessions with godly values. Some Christians argue that lottery play is not sinful, but a harmless form of entertainment. Other Christians oppose the lottery.

During the 1970s, many state lotteries began to evolve into new forms of legal gambling. The first was instant games, which had high odds of winning. This changed the lottery industry. Since then, the industry has expanded into new forms of play such as keno and video poker.

A survey in the U.S. was conducted to investigate the sociodemographic correlates of lottery gambling. Age was a significant predictor of the number of days gambled. For each year of age, the average number of days gambled on the lottery increased by 19%.

Among twenties through sixties, the majority of respondents reported that they had gambled on the lottery in the previous year. Gambling on the lottery was less common among older people.

Gender, race/ethnicity, and age were highly significant in predicting the average number of days of lottery gambling. Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans showed a strong curvilinear effect of age. Compared to whites, these groups had half the average days of lottery gambling.