Staff Reports
The New York Lottery rolled out a splashy new brand push called “Can You Imagine?” in mid‑May, and the state is already grinning at the math. The ad flight is big, bilingual, and everywhere — TV, online, subway ads, billboards, retail displays and more. That kind of ubiquity might sell tickets. It also raises a question: should taxpayers be bankrolling a marketing blitz that looks a lot like a commercial for compulsive spending?
A flashy campaign and a very large bill
The campaign was made with McCann New York and is being promoted across the whole state. Officials say it’s the Lottery’s first major brand push in nearly a decade and that the ads will appeal to younger people. Chair Brian O’Dwyer even framed each ticket as a “world of possibilities.”
Behind the bright images and daydreamy spots is real money. Trade reporting and contract data show the state’s media deals with McCann are in the hundreds of millions. One public accounting of recent contracts points to roughly $388 million tied to the 2022–2027 period with the agency, and industry reporting has previously cited very large buys in earlier years. That’s not pocket change — it’s a budget line item that deserves a hard look.
Why taxpayers should care
New Yorkers are being hit with ads while Albany is looking for ways to close budget gaps and city leaders wring their hands about a few hundred million from a pied‑à‑terre tax. Meanwhile, the state bankrolls an everywhere‑you-turn ad campaign to push gambling. That’s tone deaf. State lottery profits fund schools in New York, we’re told, but funneling more public dollars into marketing to increase ticket sales raises ethical and fiscal alarms. The ads are designed to make people dream — and to spend.
There’s also a public‑health angle. Modern lottery marketing leans on emotional framing to hook younger players. For people who struggle with gambling, a steady barrage of glossy ads doesn’t just annoy — it can cause real harm. If the state wants to run a lottery, it should at least avoid acting like Madison Avenue for addiction.
A simple, common‑sense fix
Pause the ad blitz. Audit the contracts. Redirect unnecessary ad dollars to classroom budgets and to treatment programs for gambling harm. Limit transit and out‑of‑home placements near schools and public housing. Require clear consumer warnings on state‑sponsored gambling ads. Those are modest, sane steps that protect taxpayers and vulnerable New Yorkers without ripping down a single billboard overnight.
Governor Hochul and the Gaming Commission owe New Yorkers answers: why this level of spending now, and what safeguards exist for people at risk? If the state can find hundreds of millions for a campaign that sells daydreams, it can also find common sense. Let’s stop treating government advertising like an unchecked shopping spree and start treating taxpayer dollars with the respect they deserve.
