The Relationship between Lottery Participation and Happiness

Previous literature shows that standard expected utility theory cannot explain the large amounts of lottery gambling because it is irrational behaviour. This paper examines the theory of positive anticipatory emotions to explore the relationship between lottery participation and happiness. An experiment was conducted with 1100 participants receiving a free lottery ticket and filling out surveys about their participation. The results show that the participants experienced more positive than negative emotions before the draw but the level of negative emotions is higher after the draw compared to before the draw. Overall, the results show that lottery participation has a negative effect on short-term and long-term happiness. However, several moderators are examined and the findings show that different groups should be considered when looking at the relationship between lottery participation and happiness.