New Yorkers Are Big on the Lottery and Even Bigger on Losing It

New Yorkers have a thing for the lottery. Whether it’s a last-minute Powerball ticket from the corner store or a handful of scratch-offs put into a birthday card, we’re not shy about taking a chance.

Get our free mobile app

According to a new study from Motley Fool Money, New York ranks fifth in the country for lottery ticket sales per person, with the average New Yorker spending over $455 a year trying to hit it big. That adds up to around $9 billion in total income for the state’s lottery system, which is the third highest in the entire country.

We’re playing hard—but we’re losing hard too. The study found that New Yorkers are losing over $205 per person, putting the state at number seven when it comes to lotto losses.

Most of Us Play, Most of Us Lose

However, we’re not alone in our lotto obsession. Half of all Americans play the lottery at least once a year, and in states where it's offered, the average person is spending over $300 annually. That’s a whole lot of hopeful scratching. But here’s the thing—those odds? They’re brutal.

The chance of actually winning a Powerball jackpot is one in 292 million. To put that in perspective, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning... 260 times more likely. Most people who play the lottery don’t win anything at all. It’s wild to think about how much we spend for something with almost zero chance of winning.

What If You Just Saved That Money Instead?

Nobody’s saying you can’t enjoy a scratch-off here and there. It’s fun, it’s a thrill, and maybe it’s your tradition. But what if you took the money you’d normally spend on tickets and saved it instead?

Set aside just $25 a month, the cost of a Powerball ticket and a scratcher or two. If you put that into a basic index fund with a 10% average return, you’d have over $5,000 after ten years.

Stick with it for thirty years, and it grows to more than $56,000. All from skipping a few lottery tickets each month. Instead of trying something that will give you an instant thrill with little chance of a true payoff, put some money aside and let your moola work for you.