Lottery is a form of gambling in which players try to win money or goods by drawing numbers. Those who play the lottery are often lured into it by promises that their lives will be dramatically improved if they can only hit the big jackpot. God forbids covetousness, which includes hoping for things that one does not have (Exodus 20:17). Lotteries are also popular as fundraisers and are used to support everything from school systems to prisons.
When state governments establish lotteries, they usually legislate a monopoly for themselves; select a public agency or company to run the operation; begin operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and then, in response to pressure for additional revenues, progressively expand the lottery’s size and complexity. This expansion is usually aimed at attracting younger players, as older participants tend to drop out.
Once a lottery is established, public policy debates and criticisms shift from whether or not to have a state lottery to more specific features of its operations, including the problem of compulsive gambling and alleged regressive effects on lower-income groups. Lottery officials usually take these issues into consideration, but only intermittently and at a very low level of priority.
As a result, the vast majority of lottery players are not wealthy. Indeed, they are often quite poor – and many of them play because they feel that winning the lottery will be their last, best, or only chance to break out of poverty. Studies show that these players are disproportionately drawn from lower-income neighborhoods.