A lottery is a game of chance in which participants place bets to win prizes that can include cash, goods or services. The prize amount is determined by the numbers or symbols that are drawn, and bettors can participate in one or more lotteries at once. Some examples of lotteries include the chance to be selected for kindergarten admission at a reputable school, winning a spot in a public housing development or being chosen by lottery for a vaccine.
People like to gamble, so it’s not a surprise that lottery revenue has been increasing over time. But that money doesn’t come cheap. The majority of what is won in a lottery goes to commissions for the retailer and overhead for the lottery system itself. The rest gets divvied up among the winner and the state government, which can use the funds for many different purposes, including support centers for gambling addiction.
While the odds of winning a lottery are low, it’s not impossible, which gives some people reason to keep playing. But, as Cohen writes, this obsession with unimaginable wealth is symptomatic of our times: In the nineteen-seventies and eighties, inequality increased, pensions and job security declined, health-care costs rose, and our long-standing national promise that education and hard work would allow you to live better than your parents was beginning to disintegrate.
Lottery officials are not above employing strategies similar to those used by tobacco or video-game manufacturers, and their marketing campaigns are designed to suck players in. But there’s a problem with this: It’s not fair to taxpayers.