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Language: en
buy one of these, scratch off the foil,
and boom, you're a winner, or more
likely a loser. But either way, instant
lottery tickets, scratchers, scratchies,
whatever you call them, are big money
for lotteryies. And behind it all is
data, math, and neuroscience.
One of the most successful state-run
lotteryies in the country, the
Massachusetts Lottery, made more than $4
billion in 2024 from scratch
tickets. That's a ton of money. That's a
ton of money. But Massachusetts uses the
money for public services such as road
improvements and even schools. They bet
on scratch tickets decades ago. In fact,
the first scratchoffs were introduced in
Massachusetts in 1974. Back then they
were pretty successful. Today they're
outright huge. In 2024, scratch tickets
made up almost 23 of all lottery sales.
Now part of this idea to bet big on
scratch tickets came from an
economist/ Catholic priest. I had the
interesting notion of being known as the
sin priest because I did my doctoral
dissertation on the effect of excise
taxes and anti-smoking laws on the
cigarette industry. Then I moved on to
alcohol. Richard McGawan was teaching a
statistics course at Boston College in
the early 90s when one of his students
approached him. His father was a
Massachusetts lottery commissioner and
said, "My father would like to talk to
you." The lottery was looking for ways
to further develop scratch ticket games.
So McGawan took the meeting. And he
said, "You know, how do you think we
could grow the instant games?" And I
said, "Well, one thing you might be able
to do is make sure people think it's a
quote unquote fair game." McGowan and a
group of students poured over ticket
sales data from every state-run lottery
in the country. And they thought the
higher the payout for players, the more
scratchoff tickets people would buy. But
they had to figure out how to strike a
balance between giving winners a good
payout and making a profit for the
lottery. So using statistical models,
Macau and his team created a system of
recommendations for Massachusetts. The
$1 tickets, we made a payout of around
90%. For the $2 tickets, I think we
moved it up to 91 or 92%. And for the $5
tickets, we made the payout around 95%.
At the time, those payouts were higher
than any state-run lottery, and they
still are. Massachusetts still has the
highest payouts across the country.
According to a 2024 analysis, McGawan's
team also determined that the state
should make more winning lottery
tickets. They thought that the better
the odds of winning, the more people
would play. And their strategy worked.
The Mass State Lottery is still one of
the most successful lotteryies in the
country. But the lottery isn't only
popular in Massachusetts. Playing the
lottery is one of the most popular forms
of gambling across the United States.
I remember being a kid and seeing those
like numbers show up on the screen and
being like, "Oh my gosh, I could buy a
piece of paper and win $15 million."
It's like ingrained into us as Americans
to play the lottery. Thanks for joining
me. Stay tuned for This is America,
Charlie Brown.
So, is it only the promise of a fair
game that keeps people playing? Maybe
it's the idea of beating the odds or the
dream of winning
big. Or maybe there's something else
that's happening in our brains that
makes gambling so
enticing. Your brain is hardwired to
seek out rewards through a pathway
fittingly known as the reward system. It
links different brain regions involved
with memory, motivation, pleasure, and
movement. Basically, your brain says,
"That was good. Do it again."
Scientists think this is part of why our
species has been so successful. Because
the reward system reinforces behavior
that once helped us survive. When you do
something rewarding or something that
keeps you alive, like eating, for
example, neurons in your brain release
powerful chemical messengers such as
dopamine, which causes you to feel a
wave of satisfaction and encourages you
to repeat that behavior again and again
and again and again. But drugs, alcohol,
and gambling can hijack this process.
Some researchers are finding that the
anticipation of a reward sets off the
reward center in the brain regardless of
the potential outcome. Win or lose,
doesn't matter. I'm going to play
anyway. And with excessive stimulation
of the reward system, the brain becomes
less responsive to the effects of
dopamine. It builds up a kind of
tolerance. So you need more of the
stimulant to get the same effect. And
this sets off a vicious cycle. Brain
imaging studies have shown decreased
activity in the decisionmaking part of
your brain, the preffrontal cortex, in
those with a gambling disorder. The
overall effect of the constant
stimulation of the reward system is that
the behavior becomes more like a reflex
than a choice. But what causes
addictions is complex. Some researchers
think that underlying factors such as
genetics or psychiatric conditions
influences who will develop issues with
gambling. But unlike with drug or
alcohol addictions, for those who
excessively gamble, the promise of
winning big, maybe even getting
financial freedom may seem like it's
right around the corner.
But reality check, McGawan says those
who play the lottery should always keep
in mind the odds of winning stay the
same no matter what you do. Every time
you flip a coin, the coin doesn't say,
"Oh, I was hit this time and I want to
be tailed the next time." Every time you
flip it, the odds are exactly the same.
And the same thing when you buy a
lottery ticket. The odds of you winning
are the same every time. Thank you very
much.
If you like this video, check out the
Scratch and Win podcast for the story of
the unlikely rise of America's most
successful lottery. You can find Scratch
and Win wherever you get podcast or on
the GBH News YouTube channel. And if you
or someone you know is struggling with
gambling, help is out there. Call the
National Problem Gambling Helpline at
1800522-4700. That's 1800 gambler or
text
800GM. Help is available 24/7 and is
100% confidential.
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