A lottery is a contest in which people buy tickets and have a chance of winning. They can be state-run or any other contest where numbers are chosen by random chance.
A lot of money can be won in a lottery, but the chances are very slim. If you do not want to lose all of your money, you should try to choose numbers that aren’t too close together. Buying more tickets can help increase your chances of winning, but remember that the lottery has an equal chance of selecting any number.
The first state-run lottery in the modern era was approved in 1964, in New Hampshire. It was based on the premise that lottery proceeds would fill state coffers without raising taxes, thereby keeping money in the pockets of average citizens.
However, the fantasy of a lottery that could float entire states’ budgets quickly proved false. In New Jersey, for example, lottery revenues brought in thirty-three million dollars the first year — less than two percent of state revenue.
In the early nineteen-sixties, America faced a growing crisis in its public finances. As the population grew, inflation rose, and federal tax receipts plummeted, many states faced a choice: either raise taxes or cut services.
As a result, state governments became increasingly dependent on a source of income other than state taxes — the lottery. In 1964, New Hampshire voted to legalize it, and thirteen other states followed in its wake.