Lottery is a Game But Lately Invented

Lottery is a game but lately invented, though already in high Esteem among Gentlemen and Ladies of the politest Fashion. It is a game that is very easy to play, but hard to master.

In the immediate post-World War II period, many states started a lottery to find new ways to fund education, health care, and other services without increasing taxes on working people or middle class taxpayers. They believed that the resulting revenue would allow them to do more and do it better, cutting into all the illegal gambling that was going on at the time.

Today, state lottery commissions are promoting the idea that playing the lottery is fun and an excellent way to have a chance to win. But they are also promoting two other messages, one very hidden.

The first is the idea that lottery plays are distributed pretty evenly across America, with one in eight Americans buying a ticket once a week or so. But the truth is that a much larger number buys tickets more frequently, and that the player base is disproportionately lower-income, less educated, nonwhite, and male.

The second message is that, in fact, playing the lottery is a regressive tax on the poor and minorities. The odds of winning a prize are fixed, so your chances of winning increase neither with the frequency or amount of the tickets you buy nor with how many other tickets you purchase for the same drawing. In addition, when a winner is announced, he or she has the option of choosing to receive the prize in a lump sum or in annual installments.