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Two things tend to boost lottery-ticket sales: massive jackpots and economic downturns. Last week, the US had both with the Commerce Department saying GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.9% in the second quarter and the Mega Millions lottery had its second-largest drawing ever of $1.3 billion.
That people spent so much on lottery tickets on its own is no confirmation the economy is or isn’t in a recession. But the number of people grasping at a dollar a dream is an economic indicator of sorts, said David R. Just, an economics professor at Cornell University. Declines in GDP and incomes, and increases in unemployment, correlate with an increase in lottery-ticket sales, several studies have found. “It’s a little bit of desperation,” Dr. Just said.
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