In the United States, people spend billions of dollars each year on lottery tickets. Some play for fun, others believe it is their only way out of poverty and despair. But is the lottery really that good for society? And what do we know about those who have the most to lose – and gain?

Although the casting of lots to determine fates and distribute wealth has a long history, using lotteries for material gain is of much more recent origin. The first recorded public lottery to distribute prizes was held in 1466 in Bruges, Belgium for the purpose of supporting the poor.

State lotteries typically legislate a monopoly for themselves and establish a government agency or public corporation to run the operation (instead of licensing private firms). They also begin operations with a modest number of relatively simple games, then, largely due to pressure to raise additional revenues, progressively expand their offerings in terms of both games and marketing.

In a few cases, the expansion of lotteries has generated controversy and criticism based on issues that have nothing to do with gambling per se but rather with the state’s general policy toward economic development and social welfare. Such concerns often focus on the lottery’s alleged compulsive gambler problem and its regressive impact on lower-income groups. However, in most cases the criticisms that result from a lottery’s evolution are merely reactions to and drivers of the lottery’s continuing evolution.