Region & Target Population
- Region: Toronto, Canada
- Target population: Adult residents (18+), with age-specific analysis for 18–24-year-olds
Study Design
Ecological, neighborhood-level analysis
Sample Characteristics (with data-collection years)
- Population-level lottery sales data
- Adults aged 18–24 showed the highest participation in instant-win tickets (35.5%)
Data Collection Timeline
- Lottery sales: 2017–2018
- SES data: 2011 National Household Survey
Measures Used
- Per-capita lottery purchasing by product type
- Neighborhood-level SES index
Research Questions
How does socio-economic status relate to lottery purchasing patterns, and what do these patterns imply for emerging adults?
Key Findings
- Lower-SES neighborhoods exhibited higher per-capita lottery spending across all product types.
- The strongest SES gradient was observed for instant-win and fixed-prize lotteries.
- Emerging adults were disproportionately engaged with fast, repetitive lottery products.
Study Conclusion
The authors conclude that lottery gambling reflects and reinforces socio-economic inequality. Because emerging adults are the most frequent instant-win players, young people in disadvantaged areas experience compounded exposure to a product category often framed as low risk.
