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

Abstract

Background and aims 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. Design 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. Setting and participants Neighborhoods in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the years 2012–15. Measurements 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. Findings 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). Conclusions 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.

The Relationship Between Unexpected Outcomes and Lottery Gambling Rates in a Large Canadian Metropolitan Area

“…We attempted to address this problem by excluding FSAs with low populations (less than 1000 residents): this mainly targeted commercial FSAs in the downtown area of Toronto, which have inflated lottery purchase rates presumably due to commuter activity. In a recent examination of this same dataset, we found that fixedprize lotteries are purchased more by individuals in lower-socioeconomic status (SES) than in higher-SES neighborhoods (Fu et al, 2021), suggesting that the observed purchase rates of individual FSAs likely reflects the behaviour of their residents. At the same time, SES has previously been linked to problem gambling (Orford et al, 2010;Welte et al, 2004).…”

An observational study of the association between COVID-19 vaccination rates and entry into the Australian ‘Million Dollar Vax’ competition

“…Our results found that those with higher incomes were more likely to participate in the M$V lottery which is opposite to expectations. Those on lower incomes are more likely to participate in lotteries generally 13 14 . Our result maybe because of the specific context of COVID-19 where a large proportion of the population was or had been in a severe lockdown, and so the lottery was also perceived as a reward for their patience and for already being vaccinated and that this perception was more widely held by those with higher incomes.…”

“…Though the literature on lotteries suggests those on lower incomes are more likely to enter, recall that vaccination competitions are not lotteries as they do not involve gambling. 14 15 . The financial incentives offered through entry into M$V were likely to have been perceived as a reward for getting vaccinated and that this perception may have been more widely held by those with higher incomes.…”

shinyJackpot: Visualizing lottery gambling in a large Canadian city

“…However, lower income individuals spend a greater proportion of their income on lottery gambling than those with higher income [2,4,10,11]. Furthermore, ticket sales not only correlated with levels of income, but also with lower socioeconomic status (SES) [8,5]. As such, it is important to visualize and explore this data for analysis by experts or regular users who wish to discover trends.…”