A competition in which numbered tickets are sold, and prizes (usually money) are given to those whose numbers are drawn at random, usually as a means of raising funds. Originally, this phrase was used only for state lotteries, but it now covers any kind of prize drawing based on chance.
In the United States, people spend billions on lottery tickets each year. The winners are a small percentage of those who buy tickets, but the publicity surrounding the big jackpots and other prize draws attracts many new players each week. These people aren’t necessarily problem gamblers or the poor; they just like to take a chance. They want to make their dreams come true, and the fact that there’s a chance they might just do it makes them happy.
The first lotteries in Europe were probably organized during the Roman Empire, as a form of entertainment at dinner parties. Guests would pay to have their names entered in the draw, and the prizes might be fancy dinnerware or other items. During the colonial era, lotteries were often used to raise money for towns, wars, and public works projects. George Washington ran a lottery in 1768 to help fund the building of a road across Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, but the effort was unsuccessful.
Today, most lotteries are run as businesses with a focus on maximizing revenues. Advertising is geared toward persuading target groups to spend their money on tickets. This promotion of gambling leads to questions about its negative consequences – for example, on the poor and compulsive gamblers. And it raises questions about whether it is an appropriate function for governments to carry out.
Lotteries are a popular source of revenue for state governments. In the immediate post-World War II period, lottery revenues allowed states to expand their array of social safety net programs without increasing taxes on working-class and middle-class Americans. But that arrangement began to crumble by the 1960s, as states faced rising inflation and the cost of a costly war in Vietnam. And in the ensuing years, lottery sales increased significantly, as states looked for new sources of income to maintain their welfare programs.
One of the main arguments for lotteries is that people are going to gamble anyway, so why not let them do it through a sanctioned game. But this argument overlooks the fact that there are better ways for governments to raise money, and it overlooks the harms of encouraging more gambling. Moreover, it fails to recognize the fact that lotteries are not just about gambling – they’re also about creating new generations of gamblers. The more people play, the more they’ll want to play, and the more they will spend. That’s a vicious cycle that states need to stop feeding into. Learn more with our Practical English Usage online.