The Politics of the Lottery

Lottery

A lottery is an arrangement in which prizes are allocated to a class of participants by a process that relies wholly on chance. Lotteries are usually state-sponsored, and despite public disapproval of gambling, they have gained broad popular support and become one of the most successful public activities in recent history. They generate enormous revenue for governments, a fact that has generated significant political controversy and a variety of policy disputes.

While there is an inextricable human impulse to gamble, the primary reason for lottery popularity may be more rooted in wider economic inequality and a new materialism that asserts anyone can get rich, regardless of the size of their investments. In addition, popular anti-tax movements have led politicians to seek alternatives to raising taxes and, in many cases, lotteries have provided them.

Once a lottery is established, its operation reflects the classic dynamic of a bureaucracy operating at cross-purposes with broader public interests. State officials are entrusted with a highly profitable activity, but they are given little or no general oversight of its operations. The resulting policy decisions are often at odds with the goals of the public good, and once they are established, it is difficult to change them. As a result, the public welfare becomes submerged in the lottery’s ever-evolving business model.