Across the country, people spent upward of $100 billion on lottery tickets in 2021. The game of chance is a fixture in our society and state governments use it to raise revenue for everything from roadwork to education to police force. But just how much benefit the state gets out of your ticket purchase — and whether it’s worth the trade-off to people who lose money — is a topic of debate.
A lottery is a game in which multiple people buy tickets for a chance to win a prize, often money but sometimes jewelry or a new car. The winnings are determined by a drawing of numbers or other symbols that match those on a board. The game’s popularity has exploded with the availability of online and mobile applications that allow people to play from anywhere in the world. The term comes from the Dutch word lot meaning fate, and it has been used throughout history for both commercial and charitable purposes.
The first recorded public lottery was organized by Augustus Caesar for municipal repairs in Rome. By the 16th century, towns in the Low Countries regularly held public lotteries to fund town fortifications and help the poor. State-run lotteries were widely adopted, largely because they provided a painless alternative to other taxes. Today, the US has 37 state-run lotteries. They’re operated similarly: a state passes legislation to establish a monopoly, creates an agency or public corporation to run it, and launches with a limited number of games. Revenues expand quickly, then level off and decline. To maintain revenues, the lotteries introduce new games, readjusting their odds to lure in players.
