The Lottery Debate

Lottery is a process of awarding prizes by drawing or casting lots. Although making decisions and determining fates by lot has a long record in human history (including several instances in the Bible), the modern use of lottery to distribute material wealth is relatively recent. It has largely become a form of public choice for allocating government funds. State governments adopt lottery programs and regulate their operations to gain the benefits of increased tax revenues and a broad base of political support. The debates and criticisms that surround lotteries focus on the alleged compulsive gambling behavior of certain individuals and the regressive impact on lower-income groups.

Prior to the 1970s, state lotteries were little more than traditional raffles, with the public purchasing tickets for a future drawing at some point weeks or months in the future. Innovations in the 1970s, particularly the introduction of instant games, dramatically changed the nature of the lottery business. Instant games typically feature smaller prize amounts, and their winning odds are often on the order of 1 in 4 or more. Moreover, research shows that sales and revenues of instant games peak quickly after they are introduced, and that revenues generally level off and decline over time.

Research also indicates that those with low incomes participate in the lottery at disproportionately higher rates than do those with more incomes, and that they play for longer periods of time, and purchase larger numbers of tickets. As a result, critics argue that the lottery is a disguised tax on those least able to afford it.