In the United States, 44 of 50 states and the District of Columbia have state lotteries. The six that don’t—Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, and Utah—don’t have them for reasons ranging from religious objections (Mississippi and Utah) to the fact that they already get a slice of gambling revenue (Nevada) to the lack of “fiscal urgency” in the other states (Alaska).
The history of the lottery is a tale of boom and bust, with the lottery’s popularity rising in times of economic stress and falling when the national economy is on solid footing. Cohen’s analysis of the phenomenon begins in the nineteen-sixties, when the growth of public awareness about all the money to be made from lottery games met a crisis in state funding. Rising population, inflation, and war costs were putting serious strains on the ability of state governments to balance budgets without raising taxes or cutting services.
One of the main arguments in favor of state-sponsored lotteries was that the proceeds were being used for a “public good,” whether it was kindergarten placement at a reputable school or units in a subsidized housing block. In fact, however, studies have shown that the lottery’s popularity has little to do with a state government’s actual fiscal health—lottery sales rise even in times when the state is financially sound and does not face the prospect of tax increases or service cuts.
Generally, states legislate a monopoly for themselves; establish a government agency or public corporation to run the lottery; begin operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and then, due to ongoing pressure for additional revenues, progressively expand their offerings. This expansion has tended to occur as the number of lottery participants grew, and as new modes of play emerged. But the most important factor in lotteries’ long-term success appears to be their ability to attract a core group of super users—those who buy tickets frequently, often in large quantities.
When the jackpots on state-sponsored lotteries are enormous, they attract attention both from speculators and the media. The ensuing publicity can help raise interest in the game, but it also gives critics of the lottery an opening to attack it as harmful, citing its potential for addiction and its regressive effect on lower-income populations. This kind of criticism tends to ignore the reality that, for most people, the odds of winning a big prize are extremely small. The truth is, most people who play the lottery are not hooked on gambling, but on the dream of striking it rich. This dream has fueled the growth of the lottery industry for centuries. It is not likely to go away any time soon.
