Surprising Study Reveals MA’s Big Lottery Habit

Massachusetts leads the country when it comes to spending on lottery tickets. That's the conclusion of a new study from LendingTree that tracks how much states are spending per capita.

"Massachusetts residents were, by far, the biggest per-capita spenders on lottery tickets, dropping an average of $915," the study reads. "That’s at least $300 more annually than any other state."

The average American spent $320 on lottery tickets in 2023, which was up 4 percent from the previous year. The average winnings on that number is $201, which LendingTree noted was skewed by four jackpots of at least $1 billion that year.

There are only five states without at least one lottery game — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. In 40 of the 45 states with at least one lottery game, the average resident is spending at least $100 annually.

However, in the 10 states with the highest per-capita spending, the average is at least four times higher than that. In Massachusetts, the average is far beyond even that, the study found.

Those high-spending states are also concentrated in the Northeast. Rhode Island comes in at No. 2, New York at No. 5, and Connecticut at No. 6.

Conversely, North Dakota spends the least on the lottery at just $50 each year.

Here are the top 10 spenders on lottery games, according to the study:

1. Massachusetts
2. Rhode Island
3. Virginia
4. Georgia
5. New York
6. Connecticut
7. Michigan
8. West Virginia
9. South Carolina
10. Maryland

Check out the full study at LendingTree.

One Bay State lottery player got lucky recently, snagging a $1 million win on Powerball.

Related: Powerball Jackpot Surges To $1.3B; 1 MA Winner Gets Lucky In Monday Drawing