The Ugly Underbelly of the Lottery Revealed
If you’ve ever played the lottery, chances are you’ve felt a glimmer of hope that you would win. But the odds are long, and the prize for winning the lottery is usually much smaller than what people expect. And when that glimmer of hope turns into desperation, the ugly underbelly of the lottery is revealed: the reality that some people’s only way out may be to win.
The lottery is a big business for states. Last year, Americans spent over $100 billion on tickets, making it the nation’s most popular form of gambling. But state budgets are already strained, and some critics question the efficacy of using lotteries as a source of revenue.
Some states promote lotteries as a way to give away money for social programs. Others are more subtle, selling the games as a way to bring in new residents or boost economic activity. But the truth is that the lottery is a costly proposition for taxpayers—and it is no panacea for state deficits.
Lotteries are the earliest form of organized gambling. They can be played with or without a prize, but most involve picking numbers to win a prize. The prizes can range from cash to goods, including sports teams and cars. Prizes can also be a fixed sum or a percentage of total ticket sales, depending on the type of lottery.
The first known lotteries were held in the 15th century to raise money for town fortifications. They were also used for gifts during feasts. These early lotteries were a popular way to distribute expensive items to the public.
Prizes are often split among multiple winners. The biggest jackpots such as Powerball and Mega Millions have multiple winners, which means the winners must share the prize. The probability of winning is higher if the winner picks the same numbers as other players. For example, if a player picks numbers like birthdays or ages that many other people choose (e.g., 1-2-3-4-5-7) then the chance of winning is lower than if the player picked numbers randomly.
In the United States, winners can choose between an annuity payment or a lump sum payment. If they elect to receive a lump sum, the amount will be significantly less than the advertised jackpot due to the time value of money and income taxes that must be withheld. The average American winner takes home about a third of the jackpot after all these deductions.
In colonial America, public lotteries were an important source of government revenue. Benjamin Franklin’s 1738 lottery raised funds for cannons, and George Washington held the Mountain Road Lottery to fund his planned expedition against Canada. Privately organized lotteries were even more common. In fact, the Boston Mercantile Journal reported in 1832 that hundreds of lotteries had been sanctioned in eight states that year alone. In addition to the funding of public works projects, lotteries helped build schools, churches, colleges, canals and roads.