How Much Money Does the Lottery Generate For States?

The lottery is an enormously popular form of gambling, and state governments promote it as a way to raise revenue. It is an extremely common activity, and people in the US spend more than $100 billion on tickets every year. But how much money the lottery actually generates for states, and whether that money is worth the social costs of a culture that encourages people to spend money they could have saved for other purposes, are difficult to measure.

Lottery, the process of deciding things by drawing lots, has an ancient history, with several instances in the Bible, and Roman emperors used it to give away land and slaves. Public lotteries played a major role in colonial America, raising money for public works projects, and George Washington even sponsored a lottery to raise funds for the Revolutionary War. Privately organized lotteries also became popular in the 19th century, when they were often used to sell products and property for more money than they could be sold at a regular sale.

Lottery plays are largely concentrated in suburban and urban neighborhoods, with few people in low-income areas participating. The number of lottery players increases with age, and is higher among men than women. There is also a clear income gradient: those with more education play the lottery at lower rates than those with less education, while those with more income tend to participate at higher rates than those with less income.