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The Distributional Burden of Instant Lottery Ticket Expenditures

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  • Thomas A. Garrett

Abstract

This article examines the distributional burden of different price-point instant lottery games. Theoretical reasons exist for expecting higher-priced instant lottery games to be less regressive than lower-priced instant games. Using county-level data on sales by price point for six states, the empirical results show that higher-priced instant games are less regressive than lower-priced games. In addition, regressivity is rejected in favor of proportionality for some instant lottery games. The analysis also reveals that counties having a higher-percentage of low-income households have higher sales of lower-priced instant games, but differences in the distribution of household income have no significant impact on higher-priced instant sales. Taken together, the findings suggest that large differences in the distributional burden of individual instant games are masked if aggregated instant-lottery sales data are used.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas A. Garrett, 2012. "The Distributional Burden of Instant Lottery Ticket Expenditures," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(6), pages 767-788, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:40:y:2012:i:6:p:767-788
    DOI: 10.1177/1091142112441358
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Momi Dahan, 2017. "Using Spatial Distribution of Outlets to Estimate Gambling Incidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 6583, CESifo.
    2. Celeste K. Carruthers & Kara D. Smith, 2020. "Are “Education Lotteries” Less Regressive? Evidence from Texas," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 1019-1040, January.

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