These states love playing the lottery the most
A lottery jackpot is an unlikely win, but the possibility continues to capture the imagination of people across the United States.
For Powerball, the jackpot odds are 1 in 292 million, making a winning ticket exceptionally unlikely. Yet news of prizes that change winners’ lives keeps the dream vivid: for some, the lottery represents a chance at greater comfort, freedom from money worries and a more luxurious life.
Lottery sales have risen as enormous jackpots have made headlines. In 2024, U.S. sales totalled $113.3 billion, close to twice the amount Americans spent in 2010.
Lottery enthusiasm varies considerably from one state to another. Local access to games, income and cultural views can all influence participation. To see where interest was strongest, we compared search activity and spending intensity across all 50 states.
Key findings
- U.S. lottery sales hit a record $113.3 billion in 2024, the largest total reported
- Georgia ranks #1 among U.S. states for lottery interest, backed by the highest search intensity nationwide and fourth-highest lottery spending per adult at $629.90. The state’s “all net proceeds fund education” message presents ticket purchases as a way to support a public cause
- Massachusetts records the greatest spending intensity, at $1,059 per adult, almost twice the national average
- Tennessee and South Dakota are at the low end of spending, with $34–$35 per adult
- The annual average American lottery spend is $384 per adult
- Lottery search activity doubles during Christmas week, increasing from 15M to 32M searches over the 2024 Christmas season.
- Search interest sees its sharpest national surges when jackpots pass $1 billion
U.S. states with the highest lottery engagement
The ranking draws on two indicators of lottery interest in the United States. Search volume offers a measure of curiosity and intent, while spending intensity per adult reflects how much residents spend on tickets. Considered together, the measures point to states where lottery interest and ticket spending are both especially pronounced.
America’s top 5 states most obsessed with lottery
#1 Georgia: education funding and the nation’s lottery capital
Georgia ranks first for lottery interest. Its residents generate the highest search interest, averaging 0.48 monthly searches per adult. Their ticket spending is also close to twice the national average, putting Georgia at the top for overall lottery engagement in the United States.
Revenue from the Georgia Lottery supports the HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K programs, a connection promoted throughout the state. That public message can make a ticket purchase feel like a contribution to education. By associating play with a community benefit, it may also make lottery spending feel more accepted and routine.
#2 Michigan: an early move to digital lottery play
Michigan was an early U.S. adopter of online lottery platforms, building a player base familiar with buying tickets digitally. That history helps explain the state’s high search and spending figures. Residents spend $556 per adult, well above the national average of $384.
#3 Massachusetts: scratch-off leader with the highest adult spend
Massachusetts leads the country in yearly lottery spending, at $1,059 per adult, as residents try their luck. Scratch-off tickets are a particularly strong part of its market, with per-capita sales twice those of other states. Frequent purchases help account for the high spending figure. The state also reports a high return to players: 73.4% of revenue was returned in 2024, a figure that may contribute to player confidence.
#4 Delaware: a small state with substantial lottery spending
Delaware has fewer than 1 million adults, yet its per-adult lottery spending is above average at ($493). The combination points to notable participation in a small population. Early adoption of online lottery play has also helped make lottery games familiar across generations.
#5 Connecticut: high household incomes and lottery interest
Connecticut has one of the highest median household incomes in the U.S., and combines strong search interest with spending of $549 per adult. Those measures put the state fifth in the lottery engagement ranking.
What search data reveals about lottery fever
Ticket sales indicate how much people spend, whereas search trends help show when and why lottery interest rises. The patterns suggest that several familiar events reliably prompt people to look for lottery information.
Record jackpots spark renewed attention
Few events attract lottery searches like a record-breaking jackpot. When a prize grows to historic proportions, public interest tends to climb along with it.
On November 7, 2022, Edwin Castro won the largest lottery jackpot to date, worth $2.04 billion. As the draw approached, search interest more than doubled from the level a month earlier: 32 million monthly searches compared with a peak of 70.2 million.
September 6, 2025, Powerball produced the largest jackpot to date, $1.8 billion, shared by two winners. Search interest again more than doubled ahead of the draw, rising from a 15 million baseline the month before to 37 million at its peak.
The draw for the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history took place on October 12, 2023. One winning ticket claimed $1.765 billion. Before the result, searches climbed from 30 million to 43.68 million.
These examples show search interest rising as U.S. jackpots pass the $1B threshold. Major prizes are not the only factor, though: holiday traditions also bring added attention to lottery games.
Christmas brings a doubling of lottery searches
Unlike jackpot-driven surges, which can happen at different times, lottery searches follow a seasonal rhythm. Activity generally eases in late winter and spring before building again toward Christmas.
For many Americans, lottery tickets have become part of holiday routines that centre on nostalgia and family. During Christmas week in 2024, related searches reached 32 million, up from 15 million the month before. That 2.1-fold rise was the year’s largest seasonal jump.
Holiday scratch-off campaigns, year-end rollovers and the tradition of giving tickets as gifts are among the factors that can contribute to the seasonal increase.
Methodology
We compared lottery engagement in U.S. states using search interest and ticket spending per adult. The index includes only states with complete, available data: 35 states publish 2024 lottery sales, while three states do not operate lotteries.
Data sources
- Adult population figures came from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Google Search Volume represents monthly searches related to lotteries.
- Ticket sales figures came from the latest publicly available 2024 sales data in individual state lottery reports
Metrics calculated
- Search intensity = state search volume divided by its adult population
- Spending intensity = state ticket sales divided by its adult population
How the data was normalized into an index
We converted both measures into z-scores to show how each state compared with the state average. A positive score indicates above-average interest or spending; a negative score indicates a below-average result. The two scores were combined to produce the final engagement index and ranking. See the full dataset for all results.
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With 12+ years of experience in the iGaming industry, Evan specializes in reviewing online casinos, analyzing slot games, and evaluating player safety. Their expertise covers casino licensing, RTP, volatility, bonus conditions, and withdrawal policies. Through hands-on testing and independent research, Evan delivers transparent, fact-based reviews to help players better understand gambling platforms, their features, and potential risks.
