An Interview With The Author of For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America
Every week, millions of Americans hope to hit the jackpot by buying lottery tickets, spending more on them annually than on video streaming services, movies, books, and concerts combined. While it may seem like only the poor are drawn to this game of chance, the truth is more complex.
In his book, "For a Dollar and a Dream," author Jonathan Cohen explains how the lottery has become a symbol of the elusive American Dream for those struggling to achieve upward mobility. As states look for ways to increase revenue without raising taxes or cutting public services, the lottery has become a solution, with even those in power betting on it. Through tales of winners and losers, Cohen also delves into the role of prayer, how scratch-off tickets have been used as a panacea to generate a new source of revenue without raising taxes and targeted advertising of lotteries to lower-income and non-white communities.
In "For a Dollar and a Dream," Cohen uncovers the little-known history of the lottery in America, showing how it has become a symbol of hope for both players and policymakers alike.
In this interview, Cohen discusses the history of lotteries in the United States, the psychological levers used for the lottery, and the 3 types of lottery games and who they’re targeted toward.
5 Questions: For A Dollar And A Dream
1. Where did the concept of the modern-day lottery originate? Were humans doing any form of lottery gambling prior to this?
The lottery as a way of raising money to fund government projects dates back to at least fifteenth century Europe. There are some indications that they were used much earlier in China. The concept of a lottery dates back even further--see the drawing of "lots" in the Bible. And the Romans used raffle-type games to distribute party favors. So lotteries were widely used, if not always one of the most widely-played forms of gambling.
2. What are some of the psychological levers that are used to get people to buy, and continue to buy, that ticket?
A big one is the ability for players to choose their own numbers (which was not an option for the first 20 years or so of the state-lottery era). This is an easy way to get players hooked and keep them hopeful. Scratch tickets, too, are designed to create hope: if you need to match a "3," your ticket might show a 2, 4, or 13 to give the feeling that you were really close--and that you might get a win with your next ticket.
3. Talk about the three main types of lottery games and the structure of their payouts. What is the reasoning behind their payouts and who is the targeted customer for each of these?
1) Scratch tickets are by far the most popular lottery game, and they appeal to all types of consistent lottery players (who are disproportionately poor, less educated, nonwhite, and male). Some tickets are expensive and offer big jackpots, others are smaller with more modest prizes.
2) Rollover games like Powerball and Megamillions get a lot of attention, but don't account for that much of overall lottery sales (around 15%). These games are the least regressive because lots of middle- and upper-class people who never buy tickets will shell out for a few when jackpots get big.
3) Another major category are daily numbers. These games borrow a format that was popular in urban African American communities in the early twentieth century, and have been the game of choice of some players for decades.
4. How is the lottery sold to the public as a way to suppress vice and promote civic good?
In many states, lottery advertising says very little about gambling--instead, it's all about the good the lottery does. Of course, the lottery does raise money for states. But these advertisements never mention the lottery revenue as a percentage of overall state income. If they did, it would be hard to justify the lottery as a particularly important civic good.
5. There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding the lottery. What are some of the most common ones?
One that I've written about is the myth of the miserable lottery winner. There are a few notable cases of winners winding up broke and miserable, but the vast vast majority of winners are happy, healthy, and wealthy compared to the rest of us.
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