Study: Poor People Spend More Money on Lottery

All it takes is a dollar and a dream. For many the lottery continues to be the ultimate jackpot, but like any game, there are winners and losers. Sadly, when it comes to the lottery, poor people continue to be the biggest losers. A recent study published in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty found that poor — those earning $13, 000 or less annually — people spend nine percent (about $1100) of their income on the lottery tickets. It may seem like folks are playing a losing game — especially considering that the odds of winning the Powerball, for example, are 1 in 195, 249, 054 — but sociologists point to an unending need to get out of poverty and the lottery seems like one of the quickest and most promising ways. Added to that, the fact that to play the lottery costs so little ($1 to $2 on average), minimizes the immediate impact on the wallet. But calculated in the long-term and the loss of such a significant amount of money per year and the poor remain poor.