Writers claim that lotteries exploit the poor, but how do they know this? Sometimes they show an analysis of lottery sales data, based on locations of retailers. I show that using the zip code as the unit of analysis is a blunder that promotes the least-populated zipcodes to unwarranted significance. Further, the assumption that lottery players buy tickets in the zip code where they live can be as wrong as it is convenient. Many a misleading story has been written on the basis of these two errors! NASPL Insights April 2017