Financial literacy and lottery gambling behaviour: Findings from the State-by-State National Financial Capability Study

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Author(s): Cho, Seungyeon

Journal: Applied Economics

Year Published: 2022

Date Added: May 11, 2022

Lotteries are the most prevalent form of gambling in the United States. Playing the lottery can have a negative impact on those who engage in it heavily. Financial literacy is the ability to understand and use different types of financial knowledge to make financial decisions. This study examined the relationship between financial literacy and the frequency of buying the lottery. It used restricted-version data from the United States’ 2018 state-by-state survey of the National Financial Capability study. The survey had responses from 26,566 adults. The researcher found that greater financial literacy reduced lottery consumption of those who played moderately. But the effects of financial literacy were lessened among people who played the lottery more heavily.

Citation: Cho, S. (2022). Financial literacy and its relation to lottery gambling consumption. Applied Economics, 54(41), 4725-4731. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2022.2035669

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2022.2035669

Keywords: financial literacy ; gambling ; gambling consumption ; lottery tickets ; secondary data analysis

Topics: Lottery

Conceptual Framework Factors: Gambling Types ; Resources - Harm Reduction, Prevention, and Protection ; Gambling Resources

Study Design: Descriptive: Survey

Geographic Coverage: United States of America

Study Population: Approximately 26,566 adults (18+) completed the survey from across the United States, with approximately 500 respondents per state, plus the District of Columbia. Approximately half of the respondents were women (51%) and more than half identified as white (63.7%). Nearly 60% of the respondents were married, employed, or own their own residence. Approximately 40% finished at least college education.

Sampling Procedure: 2018 state-by-state survey of the National Financial Capability Study (SSS-NFCS) in the United States. The SSS-NFCS used a non-probability quote sampling from established online panels of individuals who were recruited to join and offered incentives for participating in online surveys. The survey was self-administered by respondents on a website between June and October 2018.

Study Funding:

This study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.