How the scratch off lottery changed America

Planet Money

NPR

News, Business

4.6 • 30.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola products. Yet the scratch ticket as a consumer item has only existed for fifty years. Not so long ago, the idea of an instant lottery, of gambling with a little sheet of paper, was strange. Scary, even.

So, how did scratch lotteries go from an idea that states wanted nothing to do with, to a commonplace item? It started in a small, super-liberal, once-puritanical state: Massachusetts. Adults there now spend – on average – $1,037 every year on lottery tickets – mostly scratch tickets. On today's episode, a collaboration with GBH's podcast Scratch & Win, we hear the story of... the scratch-off lottery ticket!

This episode was hosted by Ian Coss and Kenny Malone. Scratch & Win from GBH is produced by Isabel Hibbard and edited by Lacy Roberts. The executive producer is Devin Maverick Robins. Our version of the podcast was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Alex Goldmark, engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from Money for Couples, a new book and podcast that help you and your partner build and share financial vision.
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0:19.3	This is Planet Money from NPR.
0:25.7	Joe's Market in Quincy is one of the biggest lottery retailers in Massachusetts.
0:30.5	It's got all your convenience store staples, but the area behind the counter is dominated by scratch tickets.
0:37.1	At least 50 different clear plastic boxes, all numbered and all dangling these colorful tickets.
0:43.4	Could I ask you a few questions for the podcasts?
0:46.2	Sure.
0:47.0	So what are you playing right now?
0:49.3	I play a $50 every day.
0:51.5	Have you won yet?
0:52.3	Right there.
0:53.0	So far out is spent 300 bucks on the bucket.
0:55.4	There's nothing.
0:56.4	What this man is playing is the state's brand new $50 scratch ticket.
1:01.5	He points at the serial number on the top right corner to show he's keeping track.
1:05.9	This is ticket number seven for today.
1:08.5	The other six are in the trash bucket already.
1:12.6	Six, $50 tickets. Go on until I'm broke.
1:14.6	So why do you keep playing?
	...

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