In the News: Professors John Spry and Kathryn Combs on Lotteries

Finance professors John Spry and Kathryn Combs were featured in a Time magazine article amid the Mega Millions lottery drawing on Jan. 13.

From the article:

John Spry, a professor of finance at St. Thomas University, who studies the economics of state-run lotteries, has researched the evolution of lotteries like the Mega Millions, analyzing the games’ radical evolutions since 2010. “One of the things that I’m sure the lottery officials have done that I’ve looked at is research how redesigning a game affects sales,” he tells TIME. “As they redesigned, you see they get these large jackpots more frequently.”

In a recent study titled, “The Sales Effects of Powerball and Mega Millions Game Redesign,” that Spry co-authored with his colleague, Kathryn Combs, the team analyzed drawings, winnings, revenue and redesigns from 2010 – 2019. The research showed huge increases over the years in sales, jackpot amounts and subsequently, profits for the states.