When you play the lottery, you’re putting your faith in the luck of the draw. But how does it work? We took a closer look.
The idea of lotteries to raise money has been around for a long time. The first recorded one took place in the Low Countries in the 15th century. The public lottery was designed to help build town fortifications and to give money to the poor. It also served a political purpose, giving states a way to get “voluntary” revenue without raising taxes, says Matheson. Public lotteries became widely popular in the United States after New Hampshire established its state lottery in 1964. Since then, the growth of the industry has been astonishing.
In most lotteries, a set of numbers are drawn at random, and the more of them you match, the greater your prize. Some people like to choose their own numbers; others prefer to buy a Quick Pick, which lets the ticket machine select a set of numbers for them. It’s generally a good idea to avoid choosing personal numbers, such as birthdays or other significant dates, Matheson says. They tend to have more repetitions and are harder to win than numbers with less repetition, such as numbers that add up to seven.
Many states use a portion of lottery proceeds to fund specific programs, such as public education. But critics charge that this practice is misleading, because the amount “earmarked” for a particular program still reduces the overall appropriation from the general fund that would otherwise have been used for the same purpose.
