A lottery is a game in which people pay for a chance to win a prize, such as a cash prize or units in a subsidized housing development. In the US, a lottery is typically run by the state government. The prizes are paid out when the numbers drawn by a machine match those on tickets purchased by paying participants. Unlike other gambling games, the amount of money won is often fixed and predetermined before the lottery begins. In the case of a state-run lottery, it is usually the total value of ticket sales after expenses (including profit for the promoter and costs of promotion) are deducted.
In the immediate post-World War II period, states embraced lotteries as a way to expand public services without increasing their burden on working families. But the popularity of state lotteries does not seem to be linked to a state’s actual fiscal health. Even when the state’s finances are sound, lotteries continue to win broad public approval.
One reason is that the idea of winning a huge sum of money is appealing to many people, regardless of their income level. But the bigger issue may be that, in promoting gambling as a way to raise revenue, lotteries are at cross-purposes with the larger public interest. And they rely on a player base that is disproportionately lower-income, less educated, and nonwhite. Moreover, the play of lotteries seems to decline with educational attainment and with nonlottery forms of gambling.