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State lottery advertising tells players half of the story

FILE - A playslip for the Power Ball lottery sits in a holder at a convenient store in Dallas, Texas, Thursday, March 26, 2020. State lotteries spend more than a half-billion dollars a year on pervasive marketing campaigns that deliver hopeful messages, designed to persuade people to play often, spend more and overlook the long odds of winning. But for every dollar players spend on the lottery, they will lose about 35 cents on average, according to an analysis of lottery data by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) FILE - A record Powerball jackpot is posted on a Kansas Lottery billboard in Topeka, Kan., on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. State lotteries spend more than a half-billion dollars a year on pervasive marketing campaigns that deliver hopeful messages, designed to persuade people to play often, spend more and overlook the long odds of winning. But for every dollar players spend on the lottery, they will lose about 35 cents on average, according to an analysis in 2021 of lottery data by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File) FILE - A Mega Millions playslip for those players preferring to choose the numbers they want to play is among the stacks of other lottery game playslips displayed at a Smoker Friendly store in Cranberry Township, Pa., Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. State lotteries spend more than a half-billion dollars a year on pervasive marketing campaigns that deliver hopeful messages, designed to persuade people to play often, spend more and overlook the long odds of winning. But for every dollar players spend on the lottery, they will lose about 35 cents on average, according to an analysis of lottery data by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
State lottery advertising tells players half of the story