State lottery, in the United States, is a form of gambling that is legal and regulated by a state government. It is a popular and profitable form of entertainment that can be purchased at many retail locations across the nation. The lottery provides a revenue source for the state, and also helps create employment opportunities in the community.
Public approval and popularity of lotteries vary by state, but are generally high. Studies suggest that the general public supports lotteries because they see the money from them as being used to benefit a specific purpose, such as education. This is a particularly effective argument in times of economic stress, when state legislatures may be forced to cut or increase their budgets.
Supporters of lotteries point to their contribution to state revenues, their ability to generate employment and to help keep people from gambling illegally. They also note that states rely on lottery proceeds to supplement their tax revenues, which are often low.
Opponents of state lotteries question their ethics and their ability to bring in substantial amounts of revenue. The most vociferous opponents are devout Protestants, who regard the lottery as a form of gambling and as morally unjust.
Critics also claim that lottery revenues are a major regressive tax on lower income households. As Clotfelter and Cook explain, “lower-income neighborhoods are more likely to shop at gas stations, while higher-income communities tend to play the state lottery.”
Other critics of lotteries assert that they promote addictive gambling behavior, encourage compulsive gambling, and encourage other forms of abuse by their players. A spate of crimes associated with lottery-related activity–including embezzlement, bank holdups, and murder–captured the news media in the mid-1990s.