A lottery is a process where people pay to enter into a game with low probabilities of winning. This game can be used to fill a vacancy in a housing unit among equally competing applicants, to select a new president of a country or even to determine who is the best player on a sports team. The word “lottery” is derived from the ancient practice of drawing lots to decide things. Moses used it when dividing land to his followers in the Old Testament and Roman emperors also used it to give away property and slaves.
Lotteries have a long history in America as a way to raise money for public works, education and religious institutions. They were often a solution to fiscal emergencies, when states found themselves short of revenue. As Cohen writes, they became “budgetary miracles,” allowing politicians to create revenue seemingly out of thin air without raising taxes, which would have been unpopular in their electoral districts. In this way, they helped finance everything from churches to civil defense to the Revolutionary War.
In general, Americans spend over $80 Billion annually on lotteries, which represents a huge chunk of disposable income. This is the kind of money that could have gone to build an emergency fund or paying off credit card debt. The risk-to-reward ratio is definitely not in your favor, but many people buy tickets anyway – either because they believe that their chances of winning are extremely low or because they enjoy the fantasy of thinking about what they would do with millions of dollars.