We’ve all done it. Bought that lottery ticket we know can change our lives. And while you probably have a very clear idea of what you’ll do with your winnings, you likely didn’t know that you’re participating in a industry that generates nearly $300 billion in revenue each year.
I didn’t, either, before I started working on an investigation of the global lottery industry with a team of more than 60 colleagues and students around the world.
Together we learned that the lottery is dominated by just eight companies, some of which are in more than 100 countries. We exposed the hundreds of millions of dollars of tax avoidance by International Game Technology, one of the largest companies that helps carry out what amounts to a regressive tax on poor people. We analyzed 11 million records obtained through public records requests and found 1,7,00 players across United States who won dozens, hundreds and even thousands of times at utterly incomprehensible odds. Our South African colleagues exposed rampant corruption in lottery recipients in that country, while a Malian journalist laid bare the links between the national lottery and Mali’s ruling political party.
All told, our team has written more than four dozen stories in French, German and English in Latin America, Africa, Europe and the United States. Our work has preceded arrests, story closures, policy change and funding reallocations. So the next time you scratch off the ticket that holds the key to your lottery dreams: just remember that you’re not just chasing your individual dream, you’re also supporting one of the world’s largest industries.