Lottery has been a popular form of entertainment for centuries. It was used in ancient China to select the winners of a war, and in colonial America to fund major government projects like paving streets and building wharves. Even George Washington once sponsored a lottery to help build a road across the mountains. In modern times, the lottery is used to promote everything from baseball games and horse races to cruises and college tuition. But despite the fact that lottery participants spend billions each year, research suggests it’s an addictive form of gambling with a high risk-to-reward ratio. And the money they spend on tickets could be better spent on building an emergency savings account or paying down credit card debt.
Despite this, state-sponsored lotteries are now thriving, with Americans spending about $100 billion annually on tickets. But they weren’t always that way. In fact, the history of state lotteries is a classic case of public policy being made piecemeal and incrementally, with little or no general overview or vision. And as lottery revenues expand, the pressures on state officials to maintain or increase them often become too intense for any consideration of the public’s overall welfare.
Most state lotteries are little more than traditional raffles, with the public buying tickets for a drawing at some future date, weeks or months away. But innovations in the 1970s have transformed the industry by making it possible to win big prizes instantly, without waiting. This has increased lottery revenues dramatically and caused players to be less likely to view the activity as a waste of money.