Lottery is a game in which people pay a small sum of money, select a group of numbers or have machines randomly spit out combinations of numbers, and then win cash prizes if their numbers match those chosen by the machine. If no player matches all the numbers, the prize amount rolls over to the next draw. Lottery is often used to raise funds for public works projects, such as paving streets and building wharves. It can also be used to award prizes for social programs, such as units in a subsidized housing block or kindergarten placements at a particular school.
The first lottery-style games likely began in 15th-century Burgundy and Flanders with towns trying to raise money for fortifying their defenses and aiding the poor. Francis I of France allowed the establishment of lotteries for private and public profit in some cities. In modern times, state-sponsored lotteries have developed widespread public support. Almost 60 percent of Americans play at least once a year. Lotteries develop extensive, specific constituencies that include convenience store operators (the usual vendors); lottery suppliers, who donate heavily to state political campaigns; teachers (in states in which some of the proceeds are earmarked for education); and state legislators (who become accustomed to a steady stream of additional revenues).
Two popular moral arguments against the state-sponsored lotteries concern problems with compulsive gamblers and the regressive effect on low-income households. Critics argue that the lottery violates the principle of voluntary taxation, which is supposed to mean that taxes do not affect different groups disproportionately. They point to research showing that lottery players disproportionately come from middle-income neighborhoods and far less from lower-income ones.
