This dissertation is a collection of three economic studies on the demand for and optimal pricing of state lottery games. Lottery betting is a multi-billion dollar industry that provides an important source of government revenue. Since lotteries operate at such a large scale, suboptimal pricing could lead to substantial losses in potential profit. This body of work provides a significant contribution to the literature on lottery demand by introducing a number of innovative modeling techniques that resolve major shortcomings found in current methods and provide direct policy implications for improving the profitability of state lottery games. The first essay discusses and resolves three important issues widely overlooked in the literature on lottery demand: the treatment of observations with super-unitary expected values, controlling for the endogeneity of price, and the usefulness of estimating price elasticities evaluated at the sample mean. The second essay extends the effective price model of lottery demand into a setting where a single controller operates a portfolio of games simultaneously. Expenditure, own-, and cross-price elasticities for several on-line lottery games are estimated with a Barten synthetic demand system. These elasticities are used to obtain measures of price sensitivity, to determine the degree to which these games are either complements or substitutes, and to evaluate whether profits are maximized over the entire portfolio. Finally, the third essay describes a new method to analyze the profitability of different pricing schemes that explicitly accounts for the intertemporal nature of lottery games with rolling jackpots. Since period-by-period variation in sales induced by rolling jackpots causes changes in the probability that a jackpot is won, which in-turn influences the probability of reaching new drawings with higher jackpot amounts, static analysis of lottery profitability could lead to biased estimates of expected profit. By utilizing a Monte Carlo integration procedure, a measure of expected profit is obtained through the simulation of lottery play over a period of four years. Hypothetical policy changes are examined to estimate potential increases in profitability. Empirical results for the game, Lotto Texas, indicate that a $0.40 increase in price would lead to an estimated increase in profit ranging from $142 million to $191 million over four years.

In 2012, the first state lottery began to sell its product over the internet. The additional digital delivery method represents a new era for a product that has been in the market for over three decades. Permitting a potentially competing delivery method for the same product presents an opportunity to examine the impact internet lottery sales have on traditional lottery sales. The thesis builds on work that explored what motivates policy makers to approve innovative policy solutions, such as a new internet delivery method for lottery sales, and how that decision impacts the overall viability of the existing product. By analyzing sales, profits, and growth rates, I sought to determine if market cannibalization or revenue displacement occurred when the new delivery method was added. My findings show that state lotteries experienced sales growth prior to internet sales. Prior to internet sales, only one state experienced flat gross domestic product growth in the year preceding internet sales, while the five others analyzed experienced declining GDP growth. This suggests that poor economic indicators may have led decision makes to approve a new policy for a product that otherwise was growing to address fiscal stress. After internet sales were introduced, profits and in-person lottery sales at retail locations were higher than before internet sales. Total lottery sales grew in all states that permitted internet sales; however, not all states saw sales growth grow as fast as before internet sales. This suggests that internet lottery sales have a positive impact but might dilute what could have been higher sales growth rates. / Master of Arts / Lotteries date back to ancient times. They originated out of necessity for the primary reason we use them today - leaders need money to fund public works and programs. Often, voluntary taxes like lotteries are a more politically effective way to raise funds than mandatory taxes. Modern lotteries in the United States reemerged as a legitimate state funding source in the mid-1960s. In 2020, 45 states had lotteries. My findings show lotteries continue to see growth in sales, many to benefit public education. Yet some seek to innovate the method of delivery by allowing lottery purchases over the internet. When this is permitted, how does the ability to purchase lottery over the internet impact traditional lottery sales at retail store locations? This thesis analyzed sales data from the six states that permit internet sales to show that internet sales increased lottery profits, retail sales, and total sales. However, after implementing internet sales, two of the four states with at least three years of internet sales experienced sales growth that was slower than before internet sales were permitted. This may mean some revenue displacement occured when the additional delivery method was implemented. It is rational for lotteries to want to increase sales and respond to rising customer demands in this digital age. However, legislators who may be interested in growing lottery sales as a way to combat other fiscal stress should consider whether any cannibalization may occur by permitting additional lottery delivery methods.

Thesis (MComm (Logistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Suppose a lottery draw consists of forming a winning ticket by randomly choosing t m distinct numbers from a universal set Um = f1; : : : ;mg. Each lottery participant forms a set of tickets prior to the draw, each ticket consisting of n m distinct numbers from Um, and is awarded a prize if k minfn; tg or more numbers in at least one of his/her tickets matches those of the winning ticket. A lottery of this form is denoted by the quadruple hm; n; t; ki, and the prize is known as a k-prize. The participant's set of tickets is also known as a playing set. The participant may wish to form a playing set in such a way that the probability of winning a k-prize is at least 0 < 1. Naturally, the participant will want to minimise the cost of forming such a playing set, which means that the cardinality of the playing set should be as small as possible. This combinatorial minimisation problem is known as the incomplete lottery problem and was introduced by Gr undlingh [16], who also formulated a related problem called the resource utilisation problem. In this problem one attempts to select a playing set of pre-speci ed cardinality ` in such a way that the probability of winning a k-prize is maximised. Gr undlingh [16] studied the incomplete lottery problem and the resource utilisation problem in the special case where n = t. In this thesis both problems are considered in the general case where n 6= t. Exact and approximate solution methods are presented and compared to each other in terms of solution quality achieved, execution time and practical feasibility. The rst solution method involves a mathematical programming formulation of both problems. Using this solution method, both problems are solved for small lottery instances. An exhaustive enumeration solution method, which uses the concept of overlapping playing set structures [5, 16], is reviewed and used to solve both combinatorial optimisation problems for the same small lottery instances. The concept of an overlapping playing set structure is further explored and incorporated in an attempt to solve both combinatorial optimisation problems approximately by means of various metaheuristic solution approaches, including a simulated annealing algorithm, a tabu search and a genetic algorithm. The focus of the thesis nally shifts to a di erent problem involving lotteries. An investigation is conducted into the probability, P(N; ), of participants sharing a k-prize if a total of N tickets are purchased by participants of the lottery hm; n; t; ki. Special attention is a orded in this problem to the jackpot prize of the South African national lottery, Lotto, represented by the quadruple h49; 6; 6; 6i and how the value of P(N; ) is a ected by the way that participants select their playing sets. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gestel 'n lotery-trekking bestaan uit die ewekansige seleksie van 'n wenkaartjie bestaande uit t m verskillende getalle uit 'n universele versameling Um = f1; : : : ;mg. Elke lotery-deelnemer vorm 'n versameling kaartjies voor die trekking, wat elk uit n m verskillende getalle in Um bestaan, en wen 'n prys indien k minfn; tg of meer getalle in minstens een van sy/haar kaartjies ooreenstem met di e in die wenkaartjie. 'n Lotery van hierdie vorm word deur die viertal hm; n; t; ki aangedui, en die prys staan as 'n k-prys bekend. 'n Deelnemer se kaartjies staan ook as a spelversameling bekend. 'n Lotery-deelnemer mag poog om sy spelversameling s o te selekteer dat die waarskynlikheid om 'n k-prys te wen, minstens 0 < 1 is. Die deelnemer sal natuurlik die koste wat met so 'n spelversameling gepaard gaan, wil minimeer, wat beteken dat die kardinaliteit van sy spelversameling so klein as moontlik moet wees. Hierdie kombinatoriese minimeringsprobleem staan as die onvolledige lottery-probleem bekend en is vir die eerste keer deur Gr undlingh [16] bestudeer, wat ook die verwante hulpbronbenuttingsprobleem geformuleer het. In laasgenoemde probleem word daar gesoek na 'n spelversameling van vooraf-gespesi seerde kardinaliteit wat die waarskynlikheid om 'n k-prys te wen, maksimeer. Gr undlingh [16] het die onvolledige lottery-probleem en die hulpbronbenuttingsprobleem in die spesiale geval oorweeg waar n = t. In hierdie tesis word beide probleme in die algemeen oorweeg waar n 6= t. Eksakte en heuristiese oplossingstegnieke word vir beide probleme daargestel en met mekaar in terme van oplossingskwaliteit, oplossingstyd en praktiese haalbaarheid vergelyk. Die eerste oplossingstegniek behels 'n wiskundige programmeringsformulering van beide probleme. Die probleme word deur middel van hierdie benadering vir klein loterye opgelos. 'n Uitputtende enumerasietegniek, wat gebruik maak van die konsep van spelversameling oorvleuelingstrukture [5, 16], word daarna in o enskou geneem en beide kombinatoriese optimeringsprobleme word vir dieselfde klein loterye met behulp van hierdie tegniek opgelos. Die konsep van 'n spelversameling oorvleuelingstruktuur word verder ondersoek en in 'n benaderde oplossingstegniek vir beide kombinatoriese optimeringsprobleme ge nkorporeer deur gebruik te maak van verskeie metaheuristiese oplossingsbenaderings, insluitende 'n gesimuleerde afkoelingsalgoritme, 'n tabu-soektog en 'n genetiese algoritme. Die fokus in die tesis verskuif laastens na 'n ander probleem oor loterye. 'n Ondersoek word geloots na die waarskynlikheid, P(N; ), dat lottery-deelnemers 'n k-prys sal deel indien 'n totaal van N kaartjies in die lotery hm; n; t; ki gekoop word. Spesiale aandag word aan hierdie probleem geskenk in die geval van die boerpot-prys in die Suid-Afrikaanse nasionale lotery, Lotto, wat deur die viertal h49; 6; 6; 6i voorgestel word, en hoe die waarde van P(N; ) be nvloed word deur die manier waarop deelnmers hul spelversamelings selekteer.

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Thesis advisor: Richard McGowan / This thesis will try to determine whether any state could benefit from the introduction of casino gambling, and if so, how much extra funds could be expected. Massachusetts residents spend an estimated $620 million at Connecticut's two casinos -- Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and they are dropping an additional $726 million at out-of-state gambling facilities each year. If this sum were to be spent in-state, Massachusetts would be able to reap a significant percentage of that amount for its state revenues. The same can be said for Rhode Island. West Warwick, Rhode Island is merely 45 minutes away from Foxwoods, and Mohegan Sun is about an hour away, and for a state with a huge deficit, the profit that RI could reap from an instate casino could make the introduction of casinos a worthwhile venture. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2003. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Operations and Strategic Management. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

According to the development of the gambling industry and the changes of gambling concepts, the gambler participation rate has raised gradually. Moreover, the importance of living quality and diversity is being highlighted nowadays. People choose to join gambling activities in order to fulfill a dream or to acquire the excitement, for example, buying the fantastic lotteries or the extremely exciting sports betting. The purpose of the present study is to explore the relationships among gambling motivation, types of gambling activities, and gambling involvement. To test the accuracy of hypotheses, 827 self-report data were collected from internet-based and paper-based questionnaires. The results indicate that gambling motivation significantly influences the choice of gambling activities; the choice of gambling activities significantly influences the level of gambling involvement; gambling motivation significantly influences the level of gambling involvement. To be more specific, the results also suggest that gamblers are more likely to participate in the skill of gambling with higher intrinsic motivation, and these people have higher gambling involvement. Furthermore, the choice of gambling activities will mediate the relationship between gambling motivation and involvement. At the end of the research, the implications for practices and the suggestions for future researchers are discussed.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 294-310.

Since the first modern state-sponsored lottery was instituted in New Hampshire in 1964, lotteries have proliferated to 42 states and the District of Colombia. With little exception, research has shown that these lotteries are a highly regressive form of taxation. However, this body of research does not take into account a theoretical finding that the manner in which collected funds are earmarked impacts participation patterns. The goal of this dissertation is to test this finding empirically. In the first analysis, I use sales data from the Tennessee Education Lottery and scholarship data from the TEL Scholarship program to test this theory directly. I find that instant game sales are increasing in the number of scholarships awarded in a given county and that the implicit tax incidence is less regressive than in certain other states. Theory does not hold for Powerball sales. This may be due to a misconception that buying into a multi-state game does not directly subsidize programs in Tennessee. In the second analysis, I focus on the Texas Lottery, which began as a revenue stream for the state’s General Fund, but eventually became a dedicated revenue stream for K-12 education. I exploit this change to test for a structural break in the demand for two lottery games. Then, I extend an existing theory of lottery demand to take this structural break into account. I find that there is a structural break at the time the earmark is implemented, and that the lottery is less regressive after the earmark.

This paper presents an implementation of a lottery scheduler, presented from design through debugging to performance testing. Desirable characteristics of a general purpose scheduler include low overhead, good overall system performance for a variety of process types, and fair scheduling behavior. Testing is performed, along with an analysis of the results measuring the lottery scheduler against these characteristics. Lottery scheduling is found to provide better than average control over the relative execution rates of processes. The results show that lottery scheduling functions as a good mechanism for sharing the CPU fairly between users that are competing for the resource. While the lottery scheduler proves to have several interesting properties, overall system performance suffers and does not compare favorably with the balanced performance afforded by the standard Linux kernel’s scheduler.

The present investigation aims at modeling the sales response to advertising and, in the process, sheds some light on the sales-advertising relationship subject, which has been at the center of a decades-long controversy due to its inherent complexities. We studied three Colorado Lottery games, Lotto, Powerball, and Scratch, over a four-year period of operation. To synthesize a model that appropriately described the sales-advertising behavior of each one of these games, we addressed three fundamental questions driving the modeling process itself: 1. Is there a relationship between sales and advertising? 2. If such relationship exists, is there an advertising "carryover effect" on sales? And, 3. What is the shape of the sales-advertising relationship? We put forward two general-response models (Current Effects and Koyck's) in combination with eight functional forms (one linear and seven nonlinear forms) to address the above questions and test the respective hypotheses. Employing the available time series data corresponding to game sales, game advertising expenditures, state population, state unemployment rate, and jackpot (for the relevant games), we performed the respective regression analyses. We, then, evaluated the posited relationships and selected the best predictive model for each game, when statistical evidence supported a significant sales-advertising association. Using this final model, we addressed the three research questions at the core of this study. The results of this investigation suggested the existence of a significant positive and nonlinear (concave-downwards) Scratch sales-advertising relationship. No sales-advertising association was found for the Lotto or Powerball games. The data analyzed did not seem to support either the advertising "carryover effect" on sales on any of the games studied. From the theoretical point of view, these findings extend prior empirical research that has generally assumed, for simplification purposes, a linear sales-advertising relationship with its corresponding consequences. From the practical perspective, this study highlights advertising’s contribution to sales, which can help debunk mistaken beliefs frequently stigmatizing advertising as a resource-spending function and quell the long-established skepticism about its financial accountability. / text