Main content

Using lotteries to make us better people

The lotteries that nudge people to take medicine, pick up litter or pay their taxes.

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 ÂŁ25,000 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

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Tue 3 May 2022 21:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 3 May 2022 07:06GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 14:06GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 21:06GMT

People fixing the world on YouTube

Watch stories of people changing their world on the World Service English YouTube channel