This paper by Univ. of Maryland Professor Economics Melissa Kearney reveals that household lottery spending is financed primarily by a reduction in non-gambling expenditures, not by a reduction in expenditures on other forms of gambling. The introduction of a state lottery is associated with an average decline of $46 per month, or 2.4 percent, in household non-gambling expenditures. Low-income households reduce non-gambling household expenditures by 2.5 percent on average, 3.1 percent when the state lottery includes instant games.
WATCH: “Who Profits From Causing Gamblers to Die by Suicide? Examining Corporate and State Accountability for the Institution of Predatory Gambling”
February 24, 2026
Despite a mountain of evidence, states continue to partner with powerful gambling corporations to promote ever more extreme forms of