19 dec 2023 om 05:04
Dreaming of a beautiful big house, a renovation, a new bathroom, a long trip or a nice evening out for dinner. Purchasing a New Year’s Eve ticket is a staple for many people during the holidays, even though the chance of winning is not great.
“Lotteries mainly capitalize on the wonderful feeling of daydreaming about ‘what if you win’,” says consumer psychologist Patrick Wessels. “The more vividly they can present that, the more people will buy a lottery ticket.”
The slogans ‘believe in luck’ and ‘It can happen on New Year’s Eve’ of the New Year’s Eve lottery clearly respond to this. The lottery also has an advertisement every year where luck is associated with buying a ticket.
Last year the Staatsloterij sold more than 7.1 million New Year’s Eve tickets. The chance of winning the jackpot of 30 million euros was 0.00000014 percent. That chance is three times smaller than being struck by lightning in the Netherlands.
Researcher and economist Esther-Mirjam Sent knows that – even if people are aware of the small chance of success – the prospect of winning a huge sum of money can make people optimistic and excited.
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Lottery gives valid reason to dream
According to Wessels, everyone knows that the chance of winning is small. The idea that you can win if you participate gives you the feeling that you are getting closer to your dream prize. “It gives a valid reason to dream away.”
In addition, the consumer psychologist says that buying a New Year’s Eve ticket is a tradition for many people and that social pressure is involved. “What if you don’t win, but your friends do.”
The small chance of winning is considerably overestimated by the brain, Wessels and Sent know. We can hardly imagine it. Wessels: “A small risk of fire in the house or burglary motivates in a similar way to take out insurance, preferably all-risk.”
Image: ANP
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State LotteryEconomics
2023-12-19 04:04:22
#shooting #wrong #participate #lotteries #Economy
