A lottery is a game where players pay for tickets, then win prizes if their numbers match those randomly drawn by machines. The odds of winning are based on chance and luck, but there is also a certain amount of skill involved. The lottery industry has a lot to answer for, including its potential to encourage compulsive gambling and the regressive effects on low-income groups.
Lotteries were first brought to the United States by British colonists and their initial reaction was mainly negative, especially among Christians. By the end of the Civil War, though, states began offering them in order to raise funds for education, veterans’ health programs, and other social safety net services without having to levy additional taxes.
Generally, state governments establish a monopoly for the lottery, and then select a public agency or corporation to run it (as opposed to licensing private firms in exchange for a cut of the profits). Then they begin operations with a relatively modest number of simple games and, driven by pressure for additional revenues, gradually expand the lottery’s size and complexity.
The question of how this expansion occurs is a central issue in the debate about lottery policy. It is a classic example of how policy decisions are made piecemeal and incrementally, and the general public welfare is only intermittently taken into consideration by those in charge. This is true whether the decision-makers are in the executive or legislative branch.