The lottery contributes billions of dollars annually to the American economy. People play it for a variety of reasons, some say it’s their only shot at a better life while others believe it’s a great way to invest in education and community projects. Regardless of the reason, many Americans spend a lot of time and money on tickets. However, winning is a rare event and it’s important to know the odds of winning before you buy your tickets.
The casting of lots to decide fates and distribute wealth has a long record in human history, as evidenced by several instances in the Bible. In the early United States, it was used to help establish the first English colonies; Benjamin Franklin held a lottery in 1776 to raise funds for cannons; and George Washington sponsored one in 1768 to finance a road across the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the modern era, state-run lotteries are a mainstay in American life. They are often a popular source of public funding and are a key driver of government spending, but they’re also an example of how political decisions can have unexpected consequences for people’s lives.
Lottery games are a classic example of how state-level policymaking occurs: the legislature enacts a monopoly for itself; a public corporation is established to run it; it begins operations with a modest number of simple games; and, due to continuous pressure for revenue, it progressively expands its offering of products and services. The overall effect is that a lottery becomes dependent on its own revenues, and its operators become increasingly indifferent to the impact of their policies on society.
In the short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the people in a small town gather in the town square and draw their slips, chatting and quoting traditional rhymes (“Lottery in June/Corn will be heavy soon”). The reader expects the lottery to have some beneficial effect on the villagers, but nothing of value is achieved; it simply serves to reveal the hypocrisy and evil nature of humankind.
These days, 44 states and the District of Columbia run lotteries. Those that don’t are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah, and Nevada (which is home to gambling capital Las Vegas). The absence of lotteries in those states has its own set of motivations: the state governments of Alabama, Mississippi, and Utah already have significant gambling industries; Alaska doesn’t need additional revenue; and, for some reason, Nevada doesn’t want the competition. In any case, the vast majority of American adults play the lottery at some point during their lifetimes. The question is, what are they thinking when they do? Are they aware of how much they’re spending, and what impact it will have on their own families? Or are they just buying in to the hype that big jackpots are the path to riches? Probably both. And if so, what’s the answer? More than likely, they’ll have to wait for the next drawing.