Whether or not you’re a lottery player, spending is something we all think about.
When it comes to playing the lottery, the North American Association of State & Provincial Lotteries noted that $113 billion was spent in the US on the lottery in 2023.
With the US adult population estimated at around 260 million people, that leaves the average adult spending about $435 on the lottery in 2023.
That figure accounts for both retail play and games played at online lottery sites.
Though that number seems like a lot, it’s not much over a dollar a day per adult. It’s exactly $1.19 per day.
How does that $1.19 per day compare to other average expenditures for US adults? PlayiLottery took a look.
What average Americans spend their money on each year
According to 2022 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual expenditure of an adult was $72,967. That breaks down to about $200 a day.
Lottery less than 1% of average daily spend, more than tobacco and slightly less than alcohol
When it comes to lottery spending, the average daily expense is just $1.19. That’s just 0.6% of the average daily spend of an adult.
Compared to other vices, lottery spend is slightly ahead of tobacco ($1.02), but behind alcohol spending ($1.60).
Understandably, the expenses that account for the most money per day are housing ($66.57), transportation ($33.68), food ($25.60), and healthcare ($16.03).
That average spend could increase as there become more states with online lotteries.
According to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG), the compound annual growth rate of iLottery is at 48%. That is compared to just 5% for retail lottery.
Entertainment makes up nearly 5% of spending
The Bureau of Labor Statistics broke down average spending by percentage as well.
Lottery’s minimal percentage is part of entertainment, which sits just under 5%.
- Housing: 33.3%
- Transportation: 16.8%
- Food: 12.8%
- Personal insurance and pensions: 12%
- Healthcare: 8%
- Entertainment: 4.7%
- Other expenses: 4.1%
- Cash contributions: 3.8%
- Apparel and services: 2.7%
- Education: 1.8%
Average spending for an American went up from $66,928 in 2021 to $72,967 in 2022. That’s a 9% jump year-over-year.
Of the spending categories, food spending jumped up 12.7% in 2022, while transportation spending was up 12.2%.
Image by TierneyMJ via Shutterstock
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