People Fixing the World
Using lotteries to make us better people
Up next
May 3, 2022
24 minutes
Available for over a year
Lotteries aren’t just about winning money. They’re also being used to nudge people to change their behaviour.
In the UK we try out a mobile app that enters users in to a £25,000 lottery every time they pick up a piece of litter.
We see how heart patients in the US can win smaller prizes for taking their pills… and if they don’t take their medicine, are told what they could have won.
And we look at receipt lotteries, where customers are encouraged to get receipts as each one is an entry to a big monthly draw. The scheme started in Taiwan but has been replicated in a number of countries, helping governments find the businesses avoiding tax.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter: Claire Bates
Producer: Francois Wibaux
Executive producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Penny Murphy
Image: Illustration from Getty Images