In 2021, Americans spent upward of $100 billion on lottery tickets, making it the nation’s most popular form of gambling. States advertise the games as a way to raise revenue, and many people buy in, believing that buying a ticket is not just a bad habit but also a “civic duty” or a “way to save the children.” But how much money does the lottery really bring in? And how is it worth the negative trade-offs?

Lotteries are a classic example of government policy making occurring piecemeal and incrementally, with the general public welfare taken into account only intermittently. This is especially true of state lotteries, which tend to operate at cross-purposes with the broader public interest.

In fact, while the casting of lots for decisions and determining fates by chance has an ancient record (including a couple of Old Testament examples), state-sponsored lotteries are quite recent, and their development is largely the result of state governments seeking to increase their budgetary coffers.

While some people play the lottery because they simply enjoy gambling, others do it to improve their chances of gaining financial security or even the ability to live in certain neighborhoods. Reynolds and Schroeder, for example, were able to move from their Bushwick apartment into a more affordable one in midtown Manhattan. They weren’t able to do so before because they couldn’t afford the rent in their neighborhood, and while they still don’t have the luxury of living in the most desirable areas, they can still get by.

For people who want to increase their odds of winning, buying more tickets will certainly do that. But other strategies might be more effective: Choose a sequence of numbers that isn’t too close together; buy a larger amount of tickets; pool money with friends; avoid playing numbers that have sentimental value or a birthdate; and play a smaller game with fewer combinations.

The word lottery likely comes from the Dutch noun lot, meaning fate, or, as the Oxford English Dictionary explains, “a thing or event decided by chance.” Some of the first publicly organized lotteries took place in the Low Countries in the 15th century to fund town fortifications and help the poor. Benjamin Franklin attempted a lottery in 1776 to raise funds for cannons for the Continental Army, but his scheme was unsuccessful.

Despite the fact that there are numerous problems associated with promoting state-sponsored lotteries, including their effect on poor people and problem gamblers, it’s important to understand why they’re so popular. The answer, I believe, is that a lot of people just plain like to gamble. And as long as the prizes are big enough, they’ll continue to do so. But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that there are far better ways to raise state revenues than lotteries, particularly when those funds come with a price tag. The post How to Win at the Lottery