Lottery
A lottery is a type of gambling in which numbers are drawn at random to determine the winners. It has a long history, beginning with Moses’s census and the distribution of land among the Israelites, through to the use of lotteries to award slaves in Roman times and prizes for building public works such as roads in Colonial Williamsburg. Today’s state lotteries are a lucrative business, with Americans spending an estimated $100 billion a year on tickets. But this wildly popular pastime has had a bumpy and sometimes controversial history.
The idea behind state lotteries was that they could raise money for a variety of public purposes without the heavy burdens of taxation, thus alleviating a large portion of the costs of government services and providing an alternative source of revenue. This arrangement was especially attractive in the immediate postwar period, when states needed to expand their range of services and programs but were not faced with looming deficits that would make it difficult or impossible to do so.
Whether or not the lottery has a positive impact on society depends in part on how it is marketed. The message most often used is that, although the winnings are not substantial, participants should feel good about themselves for “doing their civic duty,” contributing to the welfare of their neighbors and children.
Another major message is that the state needs the money that lotteries raise. This argument is effective in obtaining broad public support, regardless of the state’s fiscal condition, and it helps lottery sales when the economic climate is unfavorable.
