The lottery is a popular game in which players purchase numbered tickets, either individually or as groups, and attempt to match them with numbers randomly drawn by a machine. A prize is awarded if enough of the tickets sold are winners. The term ‘lottery’ derives from the casting of lots to determine fates and decisions, and this form of deciding has a long record of use in human history.
The modern state lotteries, however, are a recent phenomenon, having first been introduced in New Hampshire in 1964. Since then, they have spread to 37 states and the District of Columbia, generating significant revenue for their host governments and widespread public participation. In a state where the lottery is legal, almost 60% of adults report playing at least once in a given year.
Despite the large amounts of money they generate, however, lotteries have also generated substantial criticism from critics concerned about their impact on state government finance and public welfare. Some of this concern has centered on the risk of compulsive gambling, and others has focused on the regressive effects on lower-income groups. These concerns are a natural consequence of the lottery’s continuing evolution as a form of public policy, and they reflect the fact that state governments have little control over the structure or operations of lotteries once they are established.
The popularity of the lottery is often linked to the degree to which its proceeds are perceived as benefiting a specific public good, such as education. This argument is especially effective during times of financial stress, when the specter of tax increases and cuts to public programs may frighten voters. However, studies have shown that the overall fiscal health of state government is not a major factor in determining whether or when states adopt a lottery.
Once a lottery is in place, its operations tend to become a classic example of piecemeal public policy making: decision-making is fragmented among several executive and legislative branches, and the lottery’s operators must compete for resources with a wide range of other state activities. As a result, the lottery becomes an important part of the state’s revenue base and its operations are continually evolving, sometimes influenced by external forces and other times by internal pressures.
As a result, the lottery has become a highly politicized institution. Efforts to regulate its operations and protect its participants are often complicated by a variety of competing interests, including convenience store owners (who tend to be heavy lottery patrons); lottery suppliers (whose contributions to state political campaigns are frequently reported); teachers (in states where some lotteries’ revenues are earmarked for their schools); and state legislators, who are eager to promote their own initiatives in the name of raising lottery revenue. The lottery, like all forms of gambling, is not without its detractors, and some critics have urged governments to prohibit it altogether. Others have advocated reforms to reduce its negative social impacts and make it more equitable.