Wisconsin lottery not exactly hitting the jackpot

Study finds per-capita sales near bottom of all states that have lottery

Winning the lottery can make you rich. But, as a way to provide tax relief, there’s probably more efficient methods.  

That’s part of a new study on the Wisconsin state lottery and tribal gambling by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

The organization finds lottery sales are low compared to other states and growth in sales is sluggish.

Meanwhile, the property tax credits, for which voters approved the state lottery in the first place, have diminished significantly over the years since the lottery was approved in 1987.

The report says per-capita lottery sales in Wisconsin in the most recent year studied was about $100, which is near the bottom of all states that run lotteries and about half the national average. 

Oklahoma is at the bottom for per-capita spending on the lottery at around $50. Massachusettes is number one the nation at $700.

The study also finds the cost of administering the lottery is relatively high – about 30 percent of proceeds in some years simply goes to pay administrative costs in Madison.