Official lottery is a government-sponsored game in which participants purchase tickets for the chance to win prizes. The games are regulated by state laws and may include a prize structure, rules, time limits for claiming prizes, and activities considered illegal (such as selling lottery tickets to minors). Each state runs its own lotteries, but some states also participate in multi-state games that feature a single jackpot and a common set of rules.

A number of people object to state-sponsored gambling, arguing that it is unfair to people who don’t have the money to play for prizes. These arguments have a long history in American culture, and are rooted in cultural norms that persist even today.

In the modern era, state-sponsored lotteries took off in the late twentieth century. As the nation’s anti-tax revolt gathered steam, legislators began searching for revenue sources that would not enrage voters. They found one in the lottery, which has become a major source of state income.

Advocates of the lottery argued that people were going to gamble anyway, so why not let governments pocket the profits? The argument was persuasive, but it was flawed. As Cohen explains, the revenue from lotteries does not fully cover state spending. Moreover, the marketing campaigns that launched lotteries in new states wildly overstated the impact of lottery proceeds on state budgets. In California, where a high-profile campaign promoted the lottery as a way to help kids, for example, lottery funds now account for just five percent of K-12 funding.