Lottery is a form of gambling regulated by state governments, which promote it as an alternative to direct taxation. State officials claim that lottery revenues enable states to expand their social safety nets without imposing particularly onerous taxes on middle-class and working-class citizens. In the immediate post-World War II period, this arrangement seemed to work; a growing number of people participated in the lottery, and it provided a substantial stream of revenue for state governments.
Most states have a legalized lottery that is run either by a state agency or a private corporation licensed by the government to operate games and promote them. In a typical state lottery, the winning ticket holder receives an amount of money or merchandise in exchange for a chance to be selected as the winner of a prize. In some cases, a small percentage of the total ticket sales is donated to charitable or educational organizations.
A prevailing issue related to state-sponsored lotteries is that they tend to be dependent on a large number of regular players for their revenue. This creates a problem for some who would prefer to avoid participating in the lottery and instead seek out alternatives, such as online gaming or credit card-based ticket purchases.
Lottery advertisements necessarily focus on urging targeted groups to spend their money on the games, and these efforts are often at cross-purposes with state goals for economic development or public welfare. The result is that, even in an era of anti-tax sentiment, state governments are increasingly dependent on “painless” lottery revenues and face pressures to increase them.