Lottery has long been a popular form of gambling, encouraging people to risk a small sum for the chance of great gains. Its popularity has grown in recent decades, a development that some analysts attribute to growing economic inequality and a newfound materialism claiming that anyone can get rich if they try hard enough. Regardless of the cause, lottery proceeds help support state budgets in areas such as education.

While the casting of lots to determine fates and property has a long history, the modern lottery emerged in Europe in the 16th century, when Emperor Augustus ran a lottery to fund municipal repairs in Rome. The lottery proved a popular source of revenue, allowing government agencies to avoid raising taxes and to provide prizes in the form of goods or services.

The success of the lottery has made it a central feature of American society, and people spend upwards of $100 billion on tickets each year. Although states promote the game as a form of government funding, it is also an enormously popular and profitable form of gambling that obscures its regressive nature.

The odds of winning the lottery are quite low, but many people feel that they have a sliver of hope that they will win, so they keep buying tickets. Lottery marketing focuses on two messages, both of which are coded to obscure the regressivity of the lottery: First, it promotes the idea that playing the lottery is fun, which makes it seem harmless when in fact people are spending a significant share of their incomes on tickets. Second, it promotes the idea that winning the lottery will lead to happiness and wealth, an image that appeals to lower-income populations.