The casting of lots for making decisions and determining fates has a long history in human culture. But the modern lottery is much more than a simple game of chance; it is an important source of revenue for state governments, often operating at cross-purposes to other public purposes. Its popularity may be attributed to rising income inequality and new materialism asserting that anyone can become rich with sufficient effort and luck. Popular anti-tax movements may also have led to increased reliance on lotteries as an alternative to raising taxes.

Most people know that the odds of winning a lottery are slim, but many play anyway, buying tickets at convenient stores or online. Those who play regularly are generally low-income and less educated. They tend to gamble heavily, often irrationally. They buy multiple tickets and follow quotes unquote systems based on shoddy statistical reasoning, such as selecting numbers that are not consecutive or that end with the same digits. They also often believe that the more tickets they buy, the better their chances are.

Yet, if they were to win the jackpot, it would take many years before the full amount of the prize is paid out in equal annual installments (assuming no redraws), and by that time inflation will dramatically reduce the value. In addition, federal and state taxes on the winnings will deplete the total by a significant percentage. Then there are the costs of organizing and promoting the lottery, which must be subtracted from the pool of prizes available to winners.