Currently, lotto games operate in several countries worldwide. Usually they are operated by monopoly governments for profit. Therefore, lotto demand modeling typically evaluates whether estimated “effective price” (expected loss from buying one ticket) elasticity is consistent with net revenue maximization. Here we use data from several lotto games in Spain to estimate own-price elasticities. Results imply that games are under-priced if net revenue maximization is the goal suggesting that an increase in the (atypically low) takeout rate is one possible way of raising lottery revenues. The paper also analyses the impact of the popular Christmas Draw of the Spanish National Lottery (a passive lottery which is expected to be a potential rival of lotto games) as well as the seasonal pattern of lotto consumption in Spain.

Key words: lotto, effective price, own-price elasticity.
JEL Classification: D12, H27, L83.