US lottery ticket sales

American lottery sales and the worldwide podcast count, both climbing for over a decade. Two completely unrelated industries selling small chances at attention or windfall, sharing the same upward path.

US lottery sales grew from about 50 to over 100 billion dollars annually across this window as states expanded games, raised jackpots, and added scratch-offs. The number of podcasts worldwide grew from about 100,000 in 2010 to over 5 million by 2023 as Spotify's 2019 podcast pivot and falling production costs lowered barriers to entry. Two completely unrelated growth stories sharing a window because the same thirteen years scaled both a state-sponsored low-cost-hope category and an audio-content industry.

Two industries selling chances at attention compounded together. The ticket and the feed, both growing markets.