| By David W. Moore
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Half of all Americans say they have bought a state lottery ticket in the past year, making this the most popular of 11 forms of gambling in a recent Gallup Poll. Ticket buyers spend an average of about $19 monthly, but many apparently do not view this activity as gambling. Men are more likely than women to buy lottery tickets, but women who purchase tickets tend to spend more than men do each month on this pursuit. Participation is close to 50% among all income groups, though lower income people tend to spend more each month on the tickets.
The survey, conducted Dec. 11-14, 2003, found 49% of Americans saying they had bought a state lottery ticket in the past 12 months, somewhat lower than the percentage measured in the 1990s. Please tell me whether or not you have done any of the following things in the past 12 months. First, how about (bought a state lottery ticket)?
| |
Yes |
No |
No opinion |
| |
% |
% |
% |
|
2003 Dec 11-14 |
49 |
51 |
* |
| |
|
|
|
|
1999 Apr 30-May 23 |
57 |
43 |
-- |
|
1996 Jun 27-30 |
57 |
43 |
-- |
|
1992 Nov 20-22 |
56 |
44 |
-- |
|
1989 Apr 4-9 |
54 |
46 |
-- |
|
* Less than 0.5% |
Men are somewhat more likely to have purchased tickets than are women (by 56% to 43%), but women who participate tend to spend more than men do each month on this activity ($23 vs. $15, respectively).
| |
Percentage who bought state lottery ticket in past 12 months |
Average amount spent monthly (among those who bought tickets in past 12 months) |
| |
% |
$ |
|
Overall |
49 |
19 |
| |
|
|
|
Men |
56 |
15 |
|
Women |
43 |
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
Household Income |
|
|
|
<$20K |
45 |
46 |
|
$20K-$30K |
52 |
11 |
|
$30K-$50K |
54 |
24 |
|
$50K-$75K |
53 |
8 |
|
$75K+ |
48 |
13 |
| |
|
|
|
Age |
|
|
|
18-29 |
40 |
5 |
|
30-49 |
51 |
16 |
|
50-64 |
54 |
29 |
|
65+ |
50 |
24 |
| |
|
|
|
East |
50 |
21 |
|
Midwest |
58 |
27 |
|
South |
44 |
13 |
|
West |
46 |
13 |
The most troublesome findings in the survey concern the lottery ticket-buying habits of low-income people. Just under half, 45%, have bought a ticket in the past year, slightly lower than in the other income groups. But low-income people who buy tickets spend an average of $46 a month, more than twice the average of other participants.
Younger people are a little less likely to buy lottery tickets than are older people, and those who do spend far less per month ($5) than older people spend.
There are some major regional differences, with people in the Midwest most likely to buy tickets (58%) and Southerners least likely (44%). Midwesterners who buy tickets also spend the most ($27 per month), followed by people in the East ($21) and the South and West ($13 each).
Lottery Tickets May Not Be Seen as Gambling
In the survey, respondents were asked whether they had participated in a variety of activities in the past year, including buying state lottery tickets. Then they were asked if they had ever participated in any form of legal gambling. Forty-six percent said they had done the latter, smaller than the 49% of people who said they had bought a state lottery ticket.
More telling, however, is the percentage of lottery ticket buyers who deny ever having participated in legal gambling -- 45% say they have not, while just 54% say they have. Among low-income ticket buyers, just 38% say they have ever gambled legally.
It is most likely that when lottery participants say they have not participated in legal gambling, they are treating lottery tickets as though they are not a form of gambling, rather than believing they are a form of illegal gambling.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,011 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 11-14, 2003. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
For results based on the sample of 493 adults who have bought a state lottery ticket in the past 12 months, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
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