A lottery is a form of gambling where multiple people pay for the chance to win a prize, such as cash or goods. Many governments have lotteries to raise money for various purposes.
State lotteries have broad public support, and their popularity has not waned during the past couple of decades. Moreover, state government officials at all levels have come to rely on them as “painless” revenue streams—money that does not require tax increases or cuts in other programs. The success of lotteries in generating such revenue has also made it difficult to reduce their presence, even when state fiscal conditions indicate that they should do so.
Lottery proponents have always argued that they serve an important public purpose by drawing players from all segments of the population. However, a number of studies have indicated that the participation rate of low-income residents in state lotteries is far below their percentage of the overall population. Moreover, the bulk of the proceeds from lottery games are drawn from middle-income neighborhoods and do not benefit lower-income residents, as is often claimed.
Lottery revenues expand dramatically in the first years after a lottery’s introduction, but then they level off or even decline. This creates a pressure to introduce new games in order to maintain or increase revenue. As a result, the lottery industry is constantly evolving—an evolution that is driven both by economic factors and political considerations.