Whether they’re playing a nationwide lottery, their state’s weekly drawing, or even the keno board at their local convenience store, people in the US spend an average of $100 billion a year on lottery tickets. Some of that money might go toward a prize, but most of it ends up in administrative costs, vendor payments, and whatever else each state designates for their allocations. That’s a huge chunk of change, and it’s something that needs to be addressed.
Lottery critics often focus on the inexorable fact that lottery prizes are based on a one-in-a-million chance of winning, but there’s a deeper issue. Lotteries work to promote themselves as ways for states to raise revenue without increasing taxes, and they rely on an implicit message that even if you buy a ticket and don’t win, you should feel good about yourself because you’re doing your civic duty to help out your state and its children.
This is a dangerous premise that creates perverse incentives, where people get conditioned to think of the lottery as an alternative to paying taxes, and politicians come to see it as a way to get tax dollars for free. It also leads to a lack of transparency when it comes to lottery revenues, which aren’t as transparent as a standard tax. This is why it’s so important to make sure the public understands how lotteries function. A great place to start is by addressing the fact that lottery proceeds aren’t a drop in the bucket when it comes to a state’s overall revenue.