The Real Value of a Lottery

Lottery is a game in which numbers are drawn at random to determine who gets a prize. The word is derived from the Greek , meaning “fate” or “destiny,” and it is used in the sense of “fateful chance.” In biblical times, Moses drew lots to distribute land to the tribes, and Roman emperors often distributed property and slaves by lottery during Saturnalian feasts. Until recently, state lotteries operated essentially like traditional raffles, with tickets purchased for the drawing at some future date weeks or months away. However, since the 1970s, innovation has transformed lotteries. The introduction of scratch-off tickets that offer immediate cash prizes prompted a dramatic expansion in sales, and the continual introduction of new games has kept revenue up.

Many people buy tickets because they enjoy the thrill of the hope, and they are not always conscious of what they are doing. The odds of winning are infinitesimal, but the ticket holder can fantasize about how their life would be different if they won. Lottery advertisements cite stories of prior winners and promote the idea that wealth will solve problems. These messages appeal to a desire for money and the things that it can buy, but they also encourage covetousness (see Ecclesiastes 5:10), which the Bible forbids.

Those who advocate the adoption of a state lottery argue that it is an efficient way to raise funds for public usages, without burdening individual taxpayers. In a time when budget deficits are high, this argument has considerable appeal. But a number of important issues are overlooked. The main message of a lottery is that gambling is a harmless activity that does not have significant negative consequences for society as a whole, but the fact is that most lottery players do not consider it a benign enterprise. They tend to think of it as a “painless tax,” and they spend significant sums on tickets.

Lotteries do not raise all the money that state governments need. For example, they must subsidize advertising, and in some cases subsidize private enterprises such as retailers and even their own employees. In addition, they must set aside funds for administrative expenses and to cover the costs of prizes. These additional costs may distort the real value of a lottery.

Moreover, lotteries are not transparent and do not give full disclosure of their operations and the odds of winning. Finally, lottery officials have a strong incentive to maximize revenues, and they do so by promoting the games to particular groups of people. This exploitation of socioeconomic and racial groups raises serious concerns. It is essential that governments be vigilant about regulating this kind of business, and they should seek alternatives to the lottery when it does not serve a public interest. In the long run, it does more harm than good. The history of state lotteries demonstrates that piecemeal policy decisions are not durable, and they are often at cross-purposes with the general welfare. Few, if any, states have coherent gambling policies.