Lottery is a game that allocates prizes through a process that relies on chance. The term is probably derived from Middle Dutch loterie, from the Latin lotere “to draw lots.” People spend billions of dollars each year on lottery tickets, believing that winning will give them the life they want. The odds are low, but some people will win.
Lotteries began in the Low Countries around the 15th century, as a way to raise money for town fortifications and the poor. They also became popular as a painless form of taxation. A typical lottery consisted of a ticket that could be purchased at a local store for a small sum of money, and the winner was determined by drawing lots.
Modern state lotteries have been remarkably similar in their development. They begin with a law authorizing them; establish a public agency or corporation to run the business, rather than licensing a private firm in return for a cut of profits; start with a modest number of relatively simple games; and — due to constant pressure to increase revenues — continually introduce new ones.
I’ve talked to a lot of people who play the lottery, and they are clear-eyed about the odds. They know they are going to lose, but they keep playing because they believe that the long shot is their only chance. And the ugly underbelly here is that, in an era of inequality and limited social mobility, they feel like winning the lottery, however improbable, will give them a better life.