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..::Informative Information About The Lottery::..
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and similar game shows are only the latest craze in capitalizing on the American Dream. Even more well known, and often more lucrative are state run lotteries. All one needs is "A Buck and a Dream," boasts the New York Lottery. Just as in the game shows, the lottery focuses on the hope of easy money with minimal effort. One does not need to work hard in order to choose a series of numbers.[18] In the lottery scenario, one works for a living only until they hit that big Lotto or Powerball score. The Illinois Lottery's advertisement in a Chicago ghetto encouraged, "This could be your ticket out."[19]
Whereas the payoffs for the big jackpot lotteries are significantly higher than the "Millionaire" games, a May 2000 Powerball game reached 350 million, the odds of winning are equally long. With an average 1 in 12 to 14 million chance of winning, and 1 in 80 million for the big prizes, the degree of luck needed is astronomical.[20] Still, Americans flock to the lottery when the possibility of scoring big is most remote. In 1998, a 300 million dollar jackpot caused thousands of New Yorkers to flood across Connecticut state lines. Greenwich, Connecticut stores had lines 500 people long waiting upwards of 6 hours to purchase tickets. Forced to deal with traffic gridlock and disorderly conduct, the town was forced to spend some $80,000 for police and other emergency services. During the same Powerball drawing, the New Hampshire Lottery executive director held a press conference requesting people not to spend beyond their limits. Notwithstanding such warnings, one man admitted dishing out $3,000 for tickets.[21]
The Powerball and Lotto frenzy is easy to explain: most everyone believes in the American Dream. And though the majority will admit that winning is a long shot, they nevertheless fantasize about the possibility. Having that kernel of hope is part of the
Dream. It is the state lotteries' ability to capitalize on this fantasy that makes them so successful. Operating in 37 states and the District of Columbia, lotteries sales for 1996 totaled 42.9 billion dollars, 38% of which was net revenue, making lotteries by far the most profitable form of gambling. Most gambling venues pay back about 90% of what they take in, whereas lotteries pay out only about 50%.[22]
Yet lotteries have been around for literally hundreds of years. America was created with their help. In 1612, the British crown authorized the Virginia Company of London to hold a lottery to aid the Jamestown colony. During the colonial period and after, Americans held lotteries to raise funds for internal improvements and defense.[23] Thus how are the lotteries today different and why do they influence the traditional meaning of the American Dream?
The simple answer is advertising. State lotteries have learned the importance of effective, comprehensive marketing. Up until 1975 the federal government prohibited states from advertising, but since the ban was lifted lotteries have developed sophisticated, targeted promotions.[24] In 1997 they spent 400 million dollars marketing the various Lotto and instant games, an amount that doubled the percentage spent on advertising by most corporations.[25] Yet it is not merely the sheer scope of the advertising, but, rather, its effectiveness. Many critics argue that lotteries target poor groups who are least economically able to cope with the expense. In doing so, states are capitalizing on those who are perhaps most in need of realizing the American Dream. The Ohio SuperLotto game, for example, suggested in its advertising plan that "promotional 'pushes' be targeted as early as possible in the month. Government benefits, payroll and Social Security payments are released in the first Tuesday of each calendar month. This, in effect, creates millions of additional, non-taxable dollars in the local economies of which the majority is disposable."[26]
The Illinois Lottery engaged in an equally calculated strategy to entice an economically depressed neighborhood in west Chicago. Renting space on 40 billboards, the state promised, "How to get from Washington Boulevard to Easy Street." The advertisement's implicit "rags to riches" message played on the most core aspect of the American Dream. And studies show that such promotions work. The poor spend a larger percentage of their income on lottery tickets than the more affluent.[27]
Just as significant, the lotteries purposely mislead players about their chance of striking it rich. One study found that 70% of television advertisements portrayed people winning. Moreover, the study noted that states purposely disguised the odds and, in fact, gave the impression that there existed a good chance of winning.[28] Even some government officials have grown concerned about such tactics. In 1997, New York Governor George Pataki requested lottery officials to "tone down" their, "Hey, you never know" promotion, and added that lottery marketing should avoid "raising unrealistic expectations."[29] One might ask, is there no law to stop such deceptive commercials? Of course, the Federal Trade Commission has "truth-in-advertising" standards. Yet because lotteries are state entities they are not bound by the same requirements to which private businesses must comply.[30]
Thus lotteries are free to spend hundreds of millions on what is often disingenuous advertising specifically designed to manipulate people's quest for the American Dream. As one author noted, "the lottery, it is said, exploits people's yearnings for a better life, offering them a sucker bet wrapped in promotional hype."[31] Another writer criticized that, "our government shamelessly panders to dreams. They advise people, many of them poor, that the lottery is a good way to get money….If there ever was a get-rich-quick scam, this is it - perpetrated by government."[32]
Similar to the "Millionaire" game shows, one of the key components to realizing the American Dream is luck. Once again, Americans are sent a message that success can be achieved, not through industry, but, rather, via chance. Nor have critics of the lotteries missed this phenomenon. Michael Sandel insisted that lotteries send "a message at odds with the ethic of work, sacrifice and moral responsibility…." Instead, people are told that "with a little luck they can escape the world of work to which misfortune consigns them." Another critic agreed, arguing that, "in short, lotteries may undercut the ethic of work and achievement, replacing it with an ethic of luck."[33]
Yet lotteries, in fact, do even more. They play both on the ethic of luck and attempt to fool one into believing that there is something more than luck -- that skill is a component of winning. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission noted that lottery advertising specifically sought to persuade players that they could "influence their odds through the choices of numbers they pick."[34] Moreover, there are a plethora of books that promise to teach the would-be lottery winner: Found Money: How to Consciously Win the Lottery; The Basics of Winning Lotto-Lottery; How to Win: More Strategies for Increasing a Lottery Win.[35] The implication is that through hard work one can develop the skill necessary to win the lottery, and thus the American Dream.
With such a message one might argue that the American Dream is alive and well, that its integrity has been maintained. Industry, Ben Franklin's traditional ingredient, is realized through calculation and superior planning. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. The lottery is unquestionably random. One needs only a buck, a dream, and unimaginable luck. Thus, like the "Millionaire" game shows, state lotteries, through carefully targeted advertising, have played upon and drastically altered the customary conception of the American Dream.
Whereas the payoffs for the big jackpot lotteries are significantly higher than the "Millionaire" games, a May 2000 Powerball game reached 350 million, the odds of winning are equally long. With an average 1 in 12 to 14 million chance of winning, and 1 in 80 million for the big prizes, the degree of luck needed is astronomical.[20] Still, Americans flock to the lottery when the possibility of scoring big is most remote. In 1998, a 300 million dollar jackpot caused thousands of New Yorkers to flood across Connecticut state lines. Greenwich, Connecticut stores had lines 500 people long waiting upwards of 6 hours to purchase tickets. Forced to deal with traffic gridlock and disorderly conduct, the town was forced to spend some $80,000 for police and other emergency services. During the same Powerball drawing, the New Hampshire Lottery executive director held a press conference requesting people not to spend beyond their limits. Notwithstanding such warnings, one man admitted dishing out $3,000 for tickets.[21]
The Powerball and Lotto frenzy is easy to explain: most everyone believes in the American Dream. And though the majority will admit that winning is a long shot, they nevertheless fantasize about the possibility. Having that kernel of hope is part of the
Dream. It is the state lotteries' ability to capitalize on this fantasy that makes them so successful. Operating in 37 states and the District of Columbia, lotteries sales for 1996 totaled 42.9 billion dollars, 38% of which was net revenue, making lotteries by far the most profitable form of gambling. Most gambling venues pay back about 90% of what they take in, whereas lotteries pay out only about 50%.[22]
Yet lotteries have been around for literally hundreds of years. America was created with their help. In 1612, the British crown authorized the Virginia Company of London to hold a lottery to aid the Jamestown colony. During the colonial period and after, Americans held lotteries to raise funds for internal improvements and defense.[23] Thus how are the lotteries today different and why do they influence the traditional meaning of the American Dream?
The simple answer is advertising. State lotteries have learned the importance of effective, comprehensive marketing. Up until 1975 the federal government prohibited states from advertising, but since the ban was lifted lotteries have developed sophisticated, targeted promotions.[24] In 1997 they spent 400 million dollars marketing the various Lotto and instant games, an amount that doubled the percentage spent on advertising by most corporations.[25] Yet it is not merely the sheer scope of the advertising, but, rather, its effectiveness. Many critics argue that lotteries target poor groups who are least economically able to cope with the expense. In doing so, states are capitalizing on those who are perhaps most in need of realizing the American Dream. The Ohio SuperLotto game, for example, suggested in its advertising plan that "promotional 'pushes' be targeted as early as possible in the month. Government benefits, payroll and Social Security payments are released in the first Tuesday of each calendar month. This, in effect, creates millions of additional, non-taxable dollars in the local economies of which the majority is disposable."[26]
The Illinois Lottery engaged in an equally calculated strategy to entice an economically depressed neighborhood in west Chicago. Renting space on 40 billboards, the state promised, "How to get from Washington Boulevard to Easy Street." The advertisement's implicit "rags to riches" message played on the most core aspect of the American Dream. And studies show that such promotions work. The poor spend a larger percentage of their income on lottery tickets than the more affluent.[27]
Just as significant, the lotteries purposely mislead players about their chance of striking it rich. One study found that 70% of television advertisements portrayed people winning. Moreover, the study noted that states purposely disguised the odds and, in fact, gave the impression that there existed a good chance of winning.[28] Even some government officials have grown concerned about such tactics. In 1997, New York Governor George Pataki requested lottery officials to "tone down" their, "Hey, you never know" promotion, and added that lottery marketing should avoid "raising unrealistic expectations."[29] One might ask, is there no law to stop such deceptive commercials? Of course, the Federal Trade Commission has "truth-in-advertising" standards. Yet because lotteries are state entities they are not bound by the same requirements to which private businesses must comply.[30]
Thus lotteries are free to spend hundreds of millions on what is often disingenuous advertising specifically designed to manipulate people's quest for the American Dream. As one author noted, "the lottery, it is said, exploits people's yearnings for a better life, offering them a sucker bet wrapped in promotional hype."[31] Another writer criticized that, "our government shamelessly panders to dreams. They advise people, many of them poor, that the lottery is a good way to get money….If there ever was a get-rich-quick scam, this is it - perpetrated by government."[32]
Similar to the "Millionaire" game shows, one of the key components to realizing the American Dream is luck. Once again, Americans are sent a message that success can be achieved, not through industry, but, rather, via chance. Nor have critics of the lotteries missed this phenomenon. Michael Sandel insisted that lotteries send "a message at odds with the ethic of work, sacrifice and moral responsibility…." Instead, people are told that "with a little luck they can escape the world of work to which misfortune consigns them." Another critic agreed, arguing that, "in short, lotteries may undercut the ethic of work and achievement, replacing it with an ethic of luck."[33]
Yet lotteries, in fact, do even more. They play both on the ethic of luck and attempt to fool one into believing that there is something more than luck -- that skill is a component of winning. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission noted that lottery advertising specifically sought to persuade players that they could "influence their odds through the choices of numbers they pick."[34] Moreover, there are a plethora of books that promise to teach the would-be lottery winner: Found Money: How to Consciously Win the Lottery; The Basics of Winning Lotto-Lottery; How to Win: More Strategies for Increasing a Lottery Win.[35] The implication is that through hard work one can develop the skill necessary to win the lottery, and thus the American Dream.
With such a message one might argue that the American Dream is alive and well, that its integrity has been maintained. Industry, Ben Franklin's traditional ingredient, is realized through calculation and superior planning. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. The lottery is unquestionably random. One needs only a buck, a dream, and unimaginable luck. Thus, like the "Millionaire" game shows, state lotteries, through carefully targeted advertising, have played upon and drastically altered the customary conception of the American Dream.
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