Lottery is a form of gambling in which numbered tickets are sold for a prize, such as money or goods. Traditionally, the prizes have been used for public purposes, such as town fortifications, or to help the poor. Early lotteries were also used to give away land or slaves. Many states have lotteries.
Each state establishes its own laws regulating the lottery and designates a commission or board to administer it. The commission or board will select and license retailers, train employees of the retailers on how to use lottery terminals and sell and redeem tickets, promote lottery games, award high-tier prizes to players, pay winning ticket holders, verify player identification and certify that retail clerks, distributors and other personnel comply with lottery rules and regulations.
Once state lotteries are established, they usually evolve in a fairly predictable manner: the initial publicity and excitement of introducing a new game draws large audiences; revenues increase rapidly; profits grow until, in the words of Clotfelter and Cook, “boredom sets in.” Eventually, the commission or board begins to introduce a variety of new games.
Studies show that state lotteries typically draw substantial support from a broad range of specific interests, including convenience store owners (lotteries are the primary source of money for these businesses), lottery suppliers (heavy contributions to state political campaigns by lottery suppliers are often reported); teachers (in states in which lottery proceeds are earmarked for education); and, of course, state legislators and governors (who are not above playing). Lottery’s popularity is not linked to the objective fiscal condition of state governments; in fact, lotteries have generally won broad approval even in times of financial stress.