Regulation of lottery revenue distribution in the lottery legislation system: Analysis of international experience

Aim. This work aimed to substantiate approaches to examining international experience in distributing revenue from organizing and conducting state lotteries as an appropriate basis for identifying the most effective models for regulating lottery activities.

Objectives. The work seeks to identify the hierarchy of essential features of lottery activities, including the initial one that determines the content of others; to justify the choice of the subject of a comparative analysis of lottery regulation in a representative number of countries; to identify commonalities and differences in the system of factors determining the structure of lottery revenue distribution in the considered models for regulating the organization and conduct of lotteries.

Methods. Using general scientific methods, approaches to a comparative analysis of lottery legislation in a representative number of jurisdictions in continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, South America, and Australia are substantiated in various aspects.

Results. The work presents a hierarchy of essential characteristics of lottery activity, substantiating the initial characteristic that determines the others, namely the legal regulation of this activity. The choice of national systems of lottery legislation as the main subject of a comparative analysis of models of lottery regulation is substantiated. The key factors determining the legislatively established structure of lottery revenue distribution in all jurisdictions are identified. Approaches are proposed that can be used to generate the criteria for the effectiveness of legal models for regulating lottery activity and analyze the compliance of Russian lottery legislation with these criteria.

Conclusions. The presented analysis results of legislative regulation of lottery revenue distribution in various jurisdictions demonstrated that the model of such regulation is multifactorial. Therefore, applying the international experience to determining the structure of lottery revenue distribution is only possible through a comprehensive study of lottery legislation. Adopting the legal mechanism for establishing this structure without considering its underlying rationale and the way this structure defines the quantitative determination of its individual components would imply the mechanical incorporation of the norms of other legal systems into Russian lottery legislation. Research into the mechanisms of legal regulation of lottery activities in a representative number of jurisdictions led to the conclusion that the assessment of applicability in the Russian Federation of international experience in lottery revenue distribution should be based on the proposed approaches.

1. Muñiz A., Pérez L. Where the money goes: The role of funding allocation in lottery markets. International Gambling Studies. 2020;21(2):295-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2020.1862893

2. Gidluck L.E. State lotteries in Europe: A cross-national comparison of how lotteries are controlled, operated and benefit government, private industry and civil society. In: Egerer M., Marionneau V., Nikkinen J., eds. Gambling policies in European welfare states. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan; 2018:135-152. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90620-1_8

3. Pavlik M., Hrůza F. Alternative lottery systems in Europe and key variables for using lottery as a financial resource for sport. Studia Sportiva. 2015;9(1):216-224. https://doi.org/10.5817/StS2015-1-27

4. Sharma R.R., Sparber C. Buying lottery tickets for foreign workers: Lost quota rents induced by H-1B policy. Journal of International Economics. 2024;150:103932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2024.103932

5. Stanley R.E., French P.E. Can students truly benefit from state lotteries: A look at lottery expenditures towards education in the American states. The Social Science Journal. 2003;40(2):327-333. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0362-3319(03)00013-2

6. Anisina K.T., Sharandina N.L. The legal regulation of lottery proceeds. Finansovoe pravo = Financial Law. 2024;(3):5-10. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.18572/1813-1220-2024-3-5-10