Lottery is a game of chance that can give winners a large sum of money, or even the house. But the odds of winning are infinitesimal, which is why many people play it. “People want to dream about what they would do if they won,” New York City-based clinical psychotherapist Fern Kazlow says. It’s also why some people keep playing, despite losing more than they win. The more tickets sold, the bigger the jackpot.
Lotteries have a long history, dating back to the Low Countries in the 17th century. Towns held public lotteries to raise funds for town fortifications and the poor, according to records from that era. These early lotteries were considered a painless way to collect taxes and had the support of Alexander Hamilton, who wrote that “everybody… will be willing to hazard a trifling sum for the hope of considerable gain.”
In the United States, most lottery games are run by state governments, although some, like Powerball and Mega Millions, involve multiple states working together. The proceeds from these games are generally split proportionally among states based on ticket sales. But state lottery administrators also keep a portion of the money to pay commissions to retailers and other expenses, including salaries for lottery officials.
Some of the money from lotteries is paid out as prizes, but a portion often goes toward state programs, such as education and funding gambling addiction treatment. Other money is used to pay lottery commissions, which are the fees that lottery retailers pay to participate in the lottery.
