Lottery is a game that makes people feel like they have a chance to win, even though the odds are very long. This sense of meritocratic opportunity, coupled with the idea that someone must eventually win the lottery, fuels a lot of state lottery participation. The resulting revenue is a significant source of state government funds. However, lottery popularity and adoption tend to ebb and flow, independent of the overall fiscal health of states.
The practice of distributing property or other prizes by lot can be traced back to ancient times. For example, the Old Testament gives instructions on dividing land by lot, while Roman emperors used lotteries to award slaves and other prizes during Saturnalian feasts. One of the earliest recorded lotteries to sell tickets was in the Low Countries in the 15th century, with town records showing that lottery games raised money for building walls and town fortifications.
The modern state lottery began in New Hampshire in 1964, with the first New York lottery following in 1966. Since then, lotteries have spread to nearly every state in the United States. While the popularity of state lotteries has ebbed and flowed, they have consistently won broad public approval. Clotfelter and Cook note that the public generally supports a lottery even in times of fiscal stress, when the objective fiscal condition of a state government does not seem to matter much to people’s decision whether or not to participate.