What is Lottery?
Lottery is a form of gambling where people buy tickets and the winnings are decided by chance. The word lottery is derived from the Dutch word meaning “fate” or “luck.” It is generally accepted that the first publicly sponsored lotteries were held in the Low Countries during the 15th century for the purpose of raising money to build town fortifications and help poor townsfolk.
Two popular moral arguments against lotteries focus on the regressive nature of the taxes they impose. The first is that since lotteries are voluntary, they are a form of taxation that hurts the poor more than the rich (lotteries are often compared to sales taxes, which disproportionately burden the working class and the middle class). The second argument is that lotteries are an unethical form of taxation because they prey on the hopes and dreams of the less fortunate.
In a typical lottery, the prize pool consists of a fixed sum of money awarded to winners. Typically, the promoters and other expenses are deducted from this total before calculating the prizes to be awarded, though some lotteries have a single prize amount that is predetermined and fixed.
The percentage of Americans who play the lottery varies by income, and lottery play decreases with higher incomes. In addition, men and blacks are disproportionately represented among players, while the elderly and those with more education play less than the middle age range. A number of studies show that lottery advertising is generally deceptive, frequently presenting misleading odds of winning and inflating the value of the money won (the majority of jackpots are paid out in equal annual installments over 20 years, which quickly erode the initial value due to inflation). Despite these concerns, lotteries continue to attract large amounts of public support and raise significant revenue for state governments.
