A state lottery is a legal game of chance in which people pay for the right to win a prize. The prizes are typically cash, and the total amount paid out usually exceeds the dollars collected in ticket sales. This makes the games attractive to legislators who want a source of revenue but don’t want to raise taxes. Critics fault the lotteries for promoting high-risk gambling, conning hapless players, and fostering a culture of addiction. But these complaints are likely to fall on deaf ears.
State governments have adopted lotteries at a steady pace since New Hampshire introduced its lottery in 1964. The process has been relatively uniform in most cases: the state legislates a monopoly for itself; establishes a public corporation or agency to run it; starts with a small number of simple games and gradually expands its offerings; and focuses on increasing revenues through advertising.
As a result, the games have generated enormous profits that benefit a variety of state programs and services. In the early days, the lotteries were essentially traditional raffles. But innovations in the 1970s radically expanded the industry. One of the most important changes was the introduction of instant scratch-off games that allow players to determine that day whether they have won. These games have proven much more popular with low-income gamblers.
The lottery industry is also profiting from a series of peculiar legal provisions, including garnishment of winnings for debts and child support obligations. In some states, lottery prizes may even be confiscated by law enforcement officials to help defray the cost of crime related to compulsive lottery playing. In a typical year, state lotteries raise about $29 billion. The big winners are multinational corporations that operate the games, stores that sell tickets, and advertising and media companies.
