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Lottery in Haiti: Playing for a goal or a dream? by Rachel Bernstein

     
       In lower Delmas, Port-au-Prince, four different lotto booths stand side by side.



















        Lottery is an enormous business in Haiti, occupying as many or more storefronts than the ever-present mini-market. The lottery stalls ubiquitous throughout the country are a brightly painted indicator of the familiarity and frequency of this transaction. Haitians spend as much as $1.5 billion per year at the over 35,000 independently owned lottery stalls in urban and rural areas. That comes to more than $220 per year for each individual over the age 15, a staggering figure in a country where the per capita GDI is $810. Deeply entrenched in Haitian culture, a wager represents the hope to win a transformational sum, a message from ancestral spirits, or simply the desire to avoid seeing one’s regular numbers drawn without having bought a ticket.

        The traditional lotto game in Haiti, or bòlèt, is based on the numbers drawn in the NY state lottery every midday and evening. The player chooses one, two, or three numbers from 0 to 99 and decides on a wager amount, from 1 to 200 Gourdes. Winning numbers payoff at 10, 30 and 50 times the wager, depending on which of the three numbers matches. Some lotto stalls also offer variations on this game with lower odds of winning but higher winning payouts.

        Many Haitians would identify gambling as a vice, even as they join a large portion of their countrymen in placing a bet. In informal focus groups, about half of those interviewed admitted to playing on a regular basis. Frequent players describe betting twice a day, seven days a week, and spending 100-300HTG ($2-6) daily. Clearly, playing the lottery has negative returns, so why do Haitians play so widely and frequently? Is the decision to play rational or behavioral? How can this motivation be leveraged for more productive financial tools? This is the initial question driving our research.  



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