Sports Betting vs Lottery
Scott Morris | April 12, 2018
With the supreme court expected to strike down PAPSA, the topic of sports betting has been discussed amongst American citizens more so than ever. People who know little about sports betting question if it is morally responsible to give sports betting access to the american masses. There is a good chance that these very same people participate in gambling themselves and just do not think of it that way. They probably have an investment portfolio, which includes stocks that are subject to crashing and total or major loss. They may own bitcoin which has had wild swings in its short time in existence. Or, they may play the lottery, which no one ever wins and is basically a cash cow for the states.
Here is a comparison of sports betting and the lottery
Betting on a sporting event puts you at about a 50/50 odds of winning. You basically double your risked money. Betting on the lottery you have about a 1 in 292 million chance of winning the jackpot. If you actually win the money, they offer you the ability to take half of the winnings or get paid out the total over 20 or 30 years. Then they tax you on it. So, in the end, if you want your money now, you are basically getting 33% of the jackpot. In sports betting you simply walk to the counter, give them your ticket and get your money.
If you make money at the end of the year it is your responsibility to claim the wins as a capital gain and pay taxes on it. Basically the lottery jackpot is the biggest pipe dream in the world. And it is estimated that about 48% of the public plays the lottery in some fashion or another.
Here are the income demographics
Household income (annual)
Lotto
-$25K (25%)
$25K – $50K (25%)
$50K+ (50%)
Sports Betting
-$25K (15%)
$25K – $50K (20%)
$50K+ (65%)
It may be postulated by theses stats that sports betting is more of a recreational activity for people with sufficient financial means, whereas, the lottery may be more of a chance at getting extremely lucky to solve pressing financial needs. AS you can see by the graph below, people place a large amount of unrealistic hope in lottery. (image by visioncrucial.com)
