Studies of lottery spending, including this study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in 2008, show lottery revenue comes largely from Social Security, unemployment and other forms of government support. Government, in other words, is paying government — with an enormous amount of money being siphoned off by gambling interests. It also reflects a key reason why predatory gambling worsens state budget deficits over time and taxpayers end up footing the bill.
“They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket— but None of It Was Real” | Wall Street Journal
June 22, 2026
By Katherine Long, Caitlin Ostroff, Neil Mehta and Brenna T. Smith “The prediction market has flooded social media with deceptive