Why Lottery Ads Flood Poor Neighborhoods?

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A short walk down Colfax turned into a crash course on how hope gets marketed where margins are thinnest. We dig into why lottery billboards blanket low income and predominantly Black neighborhoods and rarely appear in wealthier suburbs, and we connect the dots between retailer commissions, billboard economics, and the retail landscapes shaped by redlining and zoning. What looks like neutral market logic—put ads where sales are strong—sits on top of a map drawn by discriminatory policy, creating a cycle where data, dollars, and dreams converge.

We unpack how targeted messaging leverages financial stress, promising escape and instant transformation rather than responsible play. Studies show media aimed at Black and Latino audiences carries heavier lottery ad loads, often alongside payday lending and fast food spots, normalizing high-risk consumption where budgets are tight. The result: lower income players spend a larger share of income on long-shot odds, turning state lotteries into a regressive tax that extracts wealth from the people least able to lose it.

Rather than pointing fingers at individuals, we call out systems that produce racially disparate outcomes without explicit intent. Then we move to solutions: restrict outdoor ads in vulnerable neighborhoods, mandate bold odds disclosures, cap retailer commissions to reduce aggressive upselling, direct lottery revenues transparently into debt relief, savings programs, and small business grants, and require public reporting of ad spend by zip code. If we change the incentives and shine light on the flows of money and messaging, we can shift from selling hope to building opportunity.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review telling us which policy fix you’d prioritize. Your voice helps push this debate toward real change.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey everyone.
For our TikTok and Instagramfans, please visit
GreatDayRadio.com orGreatdayColorado.com to listen
and download the full episode.
Welcome to Great Day Radio.
I'm DJ Mikey D, and for thispodcast, we're diving deep into
a pattern you've probablynoticed, but maybe haven't fully
understood the overwhelmingconcentration of lottery

(00:21):
billboards in low income andpredominantly black
neighborhoods across the UnitedStates.
So how did this topic come up?
I live downtown Denver,Colorado.
Recently I decided to take awalk to find a new place to eat.
As I was walking east on ColfaxAvenue, I really started taking
notice of not only the amount ofliquor stores, but the amount of
advertisings to play thelottery.

(00:43):
Now if you've driven throughdifferent parts of any major
American city, you've seen it.
In wealthier, whiterneighborhoods, maybe a billboard
for a luxury car or auniversity, but in poorer
communities of color, you'rebombarded with messages about
hitting the jackpot, changingyour life with a scratch off
ticket.
This isn't random, this is bydesign.
Let's start with the why.

(01:04):
Why are these ads so heavilyconcentrated in these specific
areas?
It comes down to a cold hardeconomic logic.
State lotteries pay commissionsto the corner stores and gas
stations that sell tickets.
In wealthier areas a store mightnot rely on that income, but in
a neighborhood that's beeneconomically disinvested in for
decades, that lottery revenuecan be a financial lifeline for

(01:27):
a small business owner.
So you get this feedback loop.
More advertising leads to moresales.
More sales mean the retailermakes more commission, which
makes them more dependent onthat income.
So they might be more willing tohost a bright, flashy billboard
right outside their door.
The state lottery agency seesthe sales data, sees that these

(01:48):
zip codes have higher per capitaspending and says this is where
we get the best return on ouradvertising dollar.
It's a cycle, and billboardsthemselves are a key part of
this.
They're a cheap, efficient wayto reach people in areas with
high foot traffic and local cartraffic, exactly the kind of
urban environments you find inlower income neighborhoods.
You don't see many billboards insuburban cul-de-sacks because

(02:09):
people aren't walking past them.
The very landscape of thesecommunities makes them ideal
targets for this kind of outdoormarketing.
But this economic story is onlyhalf the picture.
To really understand what'shappening, you have to layer it
on top of history.
We're talking about historicredlining, discriminatory
lending practices, andsystematic urban disinvestment

(02:31):
that created racially segregatedneighborhoods with concentrated
poverty in the first place.
These policies didn't justdetermine where people could
live, they determined thecommercial landscape.
They created the dense networksof small, walkable stores that
are perfect for selling lotterytickets and hosting billboards.
Meanwhile, wealthier whitersuburbs were zoned differently,
more big box stores, less foottraffic, fewer places even

(02:54):
eligible to sell lotterytickets.
The playing field was neverlevel.
So the market incentives wetalked about, they're operating
on a map that was drawn byracism.
The data that advertisersfollow, showing higher lottery
spending in black and brownneighborhoods, isn't happening
in a vacuum.
It's data that's been shaped bydecades of policy decisions that
limited wealth building andeconomic opportunity for these

(03:17):
very communities.
And let's talk about theadvertising itself.
The messaging is very specific.
It's not about responsiblegaming or play for fun.
It's about hope, it's aboutescape, it's about a sudden,
miraculous financialtransformation.
When you're facing economicprecarity, when you're living
paycheck to paycheck, thatmessage hits different.

(03:37):
It's designed to resonate withthe very real financial stress
that people are experiencing.
And let's talk about theadvertising itself.
The messaging is very specific.
It's not about responsiblegaming or play for fun.
It's about hope, it's aboutescape.
It's about a sudden, miraculousfinancial transformation.
When you're facing economicprecarity, when you're living

(03:59):
paycheck to paycheck, thatmessage hits different.
It's designed to resonate withthe very real financial stress
that people are experiencing.
This isn't just speculation.
Studies of media buying showthat marketing channels
specifically oriented towardblack and Latino communities
carry a heavier load of lotteryads.
It's de facto targetedmarketing.

(04:19):
And it often comes as part of apackage deal.
The same neighborhoods aresaturated with ads for
lotteries, payday lenders, andfast food.
It normalizes a certain kind ofhigh risk consumption in
marginalized areas.
The consequences are severe andwell documented.
Multiple studies confirm thatlower income individuals spend a

(04:40):
larger percentage of theirincome on the lottery than
wealthier people.
Some surveys show black andHispanic players also spend a
disproportionate share.
This isn't a harmless pastime,it functions as a regressive
tax.
Money that could be going towardgroceries, rent, or savings is
being funneled into a systemwith astronomically bad odds.

(05:01):
This brings us to a crucialpoint systemic racism.
When we look at this entirepicture, the billboard
placement, the marketing, thespending patterns, we see a
racially disparate outcome.
And here's the key thing aboutsystemic racism, it doesn't
require a villain in a roommaking racist decisions.
An ad executive can say we'rejust putting ads where the sales

(05:22):
are.
A state legislator can say thelottery funds education, they
can have zero racist intent, butwhen their neutral sounding
market based decisions interactwith a history of profound
racial inequality, the outcomeis racist.
The system itself is producingthe inequity.
That's why critics areincreasingly calling state
lotteries a form ofexploitation.
They're a state sanction, stateadvertise mechanism that

(05:45):
extracts wealth from the mostfinancially vulnerable
communities.
So what can be done?
There are policy alternatives.
States could restrict targetedoutdoor advertising in
vulnerable neighborhoods, thesame way some places restrict
ads for alcohol or tobacco.
They could institute stricteradvertising standards, forcing
ads to prominently display thetrue odds of winning.
They could cap the commissionsretailers earn, reducing the

(06:08):
incentive to push ticketsaggressively.
Furthermore, lottery revenuescould be transparently directed
to social programs that actuallybenefit the communities most
harmed by the lottery, thingslike financial literacy
programs, debt relief, or smallbusiness grants.
And states could requiredisclosure of exactly where
advertising dollars are spent sowe can monitor and publicize the

(06:31):
demographic impact.
In summary, those lotterybillboards cluster where they do
because market incentives, asegregated retail landscape, and
a history of discriminatorypolicy all align to make poor
and black neighborhoods highreturn targets.
The result is a predatory cyclethat contributes to regressive
spending and financial harm.

(06:51):
Acknowledging this isn't aboutassigning blame to individuals,
it's about recognizing a flawedsystem and making the political
choice to fix it.
Thanks for listening to GreatDay Radio's The Policy Mike.
I'm DJ Mikey D.
Stay Informed.
Remember, knowledge is power.
If you are listening to ourshort clip on Instagram or
TikTok, please visitGreatDayRadio.com or

(07:12):
GreatDayColorado.com to listento the full podcast episode.
Now on to the show.