Fox News
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

California among states seeing spike in lottery ticket sales

Details

  • Description

    Claudia Cowan reports from Los Angeles

  • Duration 2:06
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Editor's Picks

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

Times people -- hope for a little -- to turn things around and that could mean a windfall for the lottery.

California alone pulling in four point eight billion dollars this year that's the highest.

Number in more than a decade.

But there are concerns about people spending all that money on a game when many can barely afford everyday necessities.

Claudia Cowan -- live.

Los Angeles Claudia.

Harris it's not just California in states across the country lottery sales were thriving in 2012 and according to the experts.

That has a lot to do with the state of the economy.

Are you gonna walk away with it let's find out even when times -- top lotteries rake in the -- During bad times people want to have hope they wanna have dreams and -- apparently living at those streams through the lottery.

Fiscal year 2012 -- lottery sales nationwide jumped 9% over 2011 which it's -- was up 7% from twenty tent.

We respond by thinking of it is just that a fun diversion fun recreational.

Activity a fun way to give flight to our imagination about what we might do if we want -- If we -- -- million dollar.

And states see it as a way to supplement lost tax revenue of one.

In California which has the nation's third highest unemployment rate lottery sales are up 20%.

-- -- -- -- -- And Rhode Island gamblers dumped 7% more into Lotto tickets in 2012 even as the State's jobless rate climbed to number two.

So why the trend when we know the odds aren't in our favor your about a hundred times more likely to die from a flesh eating virus still there's no chance of winning if you don't play -- it's that hope of instant wealth that keeps people coming back for more.

Even though some experts caution against it the best thing to do -- hang onto your dollar instead of buying a lottery ticket.

Most financial advisors will tell you they don't have anything against the lottery -- say they just suggest looking added as a recreational expense.

Not an investment strategy.

Good advice Paris.

Claudia thank you burden --

Load More