a competition based on chance in which numbered tickets or balls are drawn at random to determine a prize, often as a means of raising money for the state or a charity. Also called lotto, keno, and raffle.
Making decisions and determining fates by casting lots has a long history, including several instances in the Bible, but lottery-style gambling to win material prizes is much more recent. States first started promoting state-sponsored lotteries in the immediate post-World War II period, hoping to fund their array of social safety net programs without especially onerous taxes on the middle class and working class.
State officials have shifted the message of the lottery away from its regressivity, toward the idea that people play it because it’s fun, and to give them the sense that they’re doing their civic duty by buying a ticket. They’ve also lowered the expectations of winning, so the odds of getting the big prize are smaller but there is still an expected value for players.
In a way, that makes sense. If there were a way to increase the odds of winning, the lottery wouldn’t be profitable. So there’s no logical or sensible way to increase your chances of winning, but you can lower the odds. Harvard statistics professor Mark Glickman suggests playing Quick Picks and picking numbers like birthdays or ages that hundreds of other people also select, so there’s a higher likelihood that someone else will have the same number as you.