From 4D to Toto: Study finds seniors spend about $2,300 annually on lotteries

Seniors in Singapore spend an average of $2,278 annually on lottery tickets, one study has found, with about half of those surveyed reporting net winnings in the past year.

These findings were based on a paper titled "Consumption Responses to Income Shocks through Lottery Winning: Evidence from Older Adults in Singapore" published in 2024 by Koh Kanghyock and Kim Seonghoon, reported Lianhe Zaobao.

The latter is an Associate Professor of Economics at Singapore Management University, as well as the Deputy Director at the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA), according to the university's website, while Kang is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at Korea University.

Based on data from 58.9 per cent of those surveyed, the average lottery expenditure in the last 12 months was $2,278.

About 51 per cent of them reported that they had won a net positive amount in the last 12 months, with the average prize money at $1,090.

This survey involved 6,212 individuals aged between 50 and 70.

However, the statistics revealed a wide distribution of prize winnings. The median prize value stood at $250, while the size of the prize at the 5th percentile was $10.

This meant that a majority of prize winnings were on the smaller end, Zaobao reported.

The data also showed that lottery winners spent about half their prize money within 12 months of winning, according to the paper's abstract.

This suggests that "fiscal stimulus policies or other public transfer programs could be an effective means of boosting consumption spending of the economy in the short run" said the researchers in the paper.

The data also suggests that those who spent their winnings on non-durable goods such as food, clothes and travel are seniors who see the temporary windfall as an opportunity to raise their quality of life.

Some individuals, however, indicated that they'd banked in their winnings or saved it for future healthcare or retirement needs, showing how some seniors are more inclined towards cautious spending, prioritising financial security and health protection.

When interviewed by Zaobao, 71-year-old retiree Liu Yitian shared that he'd been buying Toto at least once a month for close to 30 years. He stated that he'd won several small prizes, with the largest being $5,000.

"This was many years ago, so I don't remember it too clearly. I probably spent it on a good meal and saved the rest," said Liu, a former engineer.

He admitted to being financially stable and as such, did not have to use the money for daily necessities or urgent needs.

"But people will inevitably get sick when they get old, so it's better to save money when you have it, just in case."

According to Zaobao, the data was collected from over 3,500 households between 2017 and 2018 via the Singapore Life Panel (SLP).

The SLP is a monthly longitudinal survey of Singaporeans who were mainly 50 to 70 years old when the survey was launched in July 2015.
 

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candicecai@asiaone.com