How Popular is the Lottery?
A lottery is an arrangement whereby prizes, such as money or goods, are allocated by chance to a large class of participants in exchange for consideration, usually payment. The first lotteries to offer tickets for a prize of cash or goods can be traced back to the 15th century in the Low Countries, when town records show that local people held public lotteries to raise funds for town fortifications and to help poor families.
These early lotteries were often ad hoc and based on local customs. They were often run by religious or civic groups, but they also were endorsed by state governments in the hope that they would bring in extra revenue without onerous taxes on ordinary citizens.
Today, most states have a state-run lottery. They create a legal monopoly, hire an agency or public corporation to manage the lottery and start with a small number of relatively simple games. As revenues increase, the lottery tries to attract new players and introduce a variety of games. These include three and four digit number games; keno-like games; instant tickets (also known as scratch-off tickets); and video lottery terminals.
Some experts believe that the popularity of lotteries is connected to the degree to which they are seen as raising money for a specific, desirable state purpose. However, the evidence suggests that this connection is weak. Lottery popularity is not influenced by the objective fiscal health of the state; lotteries have gained broad popular support in states with healthy budgets and in states facing significant fiscal challenges.