In 2021, Americans spent upward of $100 billion on lottery tickets, making it the country’s most popular form of gambling. Lottery advocates argue that it provides “painless” revenue that allows states to expand social services without imposing especially onerous taxes on working and middle-class people. But just how meaningful that revenue is, and what the trade-offs are for those who play, merits scrutiny.

Historically, lottery games began with simple drawings to distribute items such as dinnerware, clothing, and even slaves. These lotteries were essentially an early form of redistribution, and they continued throughout the Middle Ages and into colonial America. Benjamin Franklin’s 1748 lottery helped fund the founding of Philadelphia and John Hancock’s 1767 lottery raised money for Boston’s Faneuil Hall. George Washington ran a lottery to finance a road in Virginia over a mountain pass, but that effort was unsuccessful.

Modern state-sponsored lotteries evolved from this tradition in the 15th and 16th centuries, with towns in Burgundy and Flanders seeking ways to fortify their defenses or help the poor. Francis I of France permitted public lotteries, and they became a popular activity across Europe.

While the winners of state lotteries are sometimes spectacular, the majority of ticket buyers are not particularly wealthy. They’re disproportionately lower-income, less educated, nonwhite, and male. Moreover, many of them end up bankrupt after winning the jackpot. Yet, lottery officials have a hard time explaining that these dynamics are inevitable and inherent to the game.