Lottery is the most popular form of gambling in the United States, with people spending upwards of $100 billion on tickets every year. While it is no doubt a significant source of revenue for state governments, just how meaningful that revenue is in the context of state budgets and whether it is worth the trade-offs to people losing money on lottery tickets warrants closer scrutiny.
Lotteries have a long history dating back to the 15th century, when a variety of towns held public lotteries in order to raise money for walls and town fortifications and to help the poor. They became more widespread in the 17th century, when Benjamin Franklin used a lottery to raise funds for cannons to defend Philadelphia during the American Revolution.
The modern lottery is a legalized form of gambling that offers chances to win prizes in exchange for a small fee, which is usually paid at a participating store or through a government-sanctioned website. The winner is determined by a random drawing of entries, which can be from scratch tickets or pre-printed tickets. Prizes range from cash to goods, services and even real estate.
Despite the long odds of winning, many people continue to play the lottery, particularly those who live in areas with low economic mobility and limited opportunity. Some of the appeal comes from a sense of irrational hope that, however improbable, somebody must eventually win. But there is more at work here. As Clotfelter and Cook point out, the fact that lottery proceeds are earmarked for a specific public good also seems to have a strong appeal to citizens.