Most states run a lottery, offering a variety of games to which anyone can buy tickets. Some of these games involve picking numbers, while others are instant-win scratch-offs. In all, about 50 percent of Americans play a lottery game at least once a year.
Initially, state lotteries were seen as an excellent way for states to boost their social safety nets without raising taxes that would affect lower-income families disproportionately. But as states’ budgets ballooned, this arrangement began to fail. Lotteries became a way to fill state coffers and, over time, the industry expanded rapidly into new games.
Lottery revenue growth has reached a plateau, leading to a second set of issues. In many cases, the state lottery has evolved into a quasi-monopoly. Its operations have become dependent on a broad range of specific constituencies, including convenience store operators (the primary vendors), lottery suppliers (heavy contributions to state political campaigns are often reported) and teachers, in states where a portion of revenues is earmarked for education.
The industry has also become heavily dependent on super-sized jackpots, which draw a great deal of free publicity by appearing in newscasts and on the front pages of newspapers. And as lottery advertising becomes more sophisticated, it focuses on persuading target groups to spend their money on the games.
The message is that playing a lottery is fun. But it’s also a form of gambling that has a regressive impact on people of all income levels, who tend to spend a larger percentage of their incomes on it than those with higher incomes. And there is a danger that the promotion of these games undermines efforts to discourage compulsive gambling.