In the United States, state lotteries are a major source of revenue. They sell tickets for a draw of numbers that win prizes ranging from sports team drafts to units in subsidized housing blocks. But there’s a darker side to the lottery that is seldom talked about. A lottery is a form of gambling, and gambling is an unhealthy habit that can lead to addiction and other problems. A state’s adoption of a lottery raises the question: Are the benefits to society worth the risks?
The casting of lots for decisions and fortunes has a long history (see, for example, the Bible), but the use of a lottery for material gain is of more recent origin. In the first century, Roman emperors used them to give away property and slaves. The early colonial period saw a proliferation of lotteries, including those organized by Benjamin Franklin to help establish Boston’s Faneuil Hall and George Washington for a road over a mountain pass.
Today, lotteries have become a staple of the American public purse, raising billions annually. In many cases, they’re the only source of revenue for a variety of government services. In addition to the public goods they provide, lottery revenues have helped finance infrastructure projects ranging from highways to schools. But the fact that they are a kind of gambling is at the heart of the controversy surrounding them. And, because they’re run as a business with the primary purpose of increasing revenues, they are often at cross-purposes with the larger public interest.