Lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn to determine prizes. This practice has its roots in ancient times. For example, in the Old Testament Moses is instructed to take a census of Israel and divide the land by lot, while Roman emperors used lotteries as a way to give away property and slaves during Saturnalian feasts. The lottery’s popularity in the United States dates back to the colonial era, where it was widely embraced by legislators and hailed as a painless form of taxation. In 1776 Benjamin Franklin ran a lottery to raise funds for cannons to defend Philadelphia against the British and in 1768 George Washington organized a lottery to finance construction of roads over the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Today, state and provincial lotteries are operated like businesses, with an explicit goal of maximizing revenues through sales. They do so by running advertising campaigns that promote the upcoming drawings and highlight how much money is available to be won. The advertisements imply that winning the jackpot will lead to instant riches and a plethora of other benefits, including a more comfortable lifestyle, better health, and greater financial security.
But promoting the lottery as a means of achieving these goals obscures its regressive nature. Research shows that the vast majority of lottery players are not wealthy and disproportionately come from low-income neighborhoods. These facts, coupled with the inherent regressivity of gambling, mean that the lottery isn’t just a game for “everybody,” it’s a gamble that largely reflects economic inequality and limits social mobility.
