Government-run lotteries are a widely used approach to generating revenue for states. In the following activities, you analyze how lottery advertisements are designed to persuade people to gamble their money and then inform people about their actual mathematical chances of winning lottery prizes.
A lottery is a game of chance. Players are not guaranteed to win; in fact, hardly anyone ever does. The thrill that keeps people playing and paying is the hope that "today might be your lucky day" - the time when it all comes together and you win big money with its accompanying celebrity status.
Lotteries are a form of regressive taxation where lower-earning individuals spend a higher percentage of their incomes on games of chance in which they have little opportunity to earn back what they spend. A few people do win large amounts of money, but the likelihood is extremely small. The chance of winning a Mega Millions jackpot is about 1 in 302.5 million; the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 500,000.
In 2023, all but five states (Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah) have lotteries. Alabama and Utah have a prohibition against gambling in their state constitution.
During your analysis, consider the following prompts:
What do you notice about how lottery advertisements use words, colors, numbers, and graphics to encourage people to play?
Where do you see advertisements for the lottery? Sporting events, city billboards, diners, particular television shows, certain websites, other locations? Why do you think the lottery has chosen these places to advertise?
What visual and textual techniques do they use to persuade people to buy lottery tickets?
Then, using the techniques of persuasion you uncovered during your analysis, design your own print or media advertisement to convince people to not spend their money on lottery tickets.
Designing for Learning: Student-Created Activity Example
While psychologists recommend that people only bet what they can afford to lose on lottery tickets and other games of chance, some individuals spend money recklessly in hope of winning big.
Create a series of TikTok or Snapchat videos to inform people about their odds of winning a lottery.
Give examples of tax-supported facilities and services provided by the Massachusetts state government and by local governments. (Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Studies) [8.T6.9]