The casting of lots to determine ownership or other rights has a long record in human history—including several examples in the Bible. Lotteries became common in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, raising money for towns, wars, colleges, public-works projects, and other purposes. They gained a powerful hold in the United States after World War II, when they were promoted as a painless form of taxation, making it possible for state governments to expand their range of services without burdening middle-class and working-class taxpayers.
Although lottery participation has increased dramatically, critics point to problems in the way they are run. Because they are a business with the primary objective of maximizing revenues, their advertising necessarily focuses on persuading people to spend their money, often exaggerating the odds of winning and the value of the money won (in the U.S., jackpots are paid in equal annual installments over 20 years, with inflation and taxes significantly eroding the current value).
A key argument is that lotteries help support a specific public good—education, for example—which is why their popularity has remained steady in spite of the fact that state governments’ actual fiscal conditions have been deteriorating. But this argument may also be misleading, because studies have shown that the popularity of a lottery is not related to its perceived benefits and does not correlate with the state’s actual financial health. In addition, many people choose to sell their winnings instead of receiving them in a lump sum.