A lottery is a game of chance in which numbered tickets are sold for a small price and the winners are chosen through a random drawing. Lotteries are typically run by state or government agencies and provide an alternative to traditional gambling. They may be considered a type of gambling and may involve substantial prize money.

For many people, dreaming about winning the lottery is as much a part of American culture as Instagram and reality TV. In fact, the history of the lottery is as old as the country itself. But Cohen argues that this obsession with unimaginable wealth isn’t just a symptom of our times: It’s a reflection of the fundamental changes in the economy and the American Dream that started in the nineteen-seventies and have continued to accelerate. As the middle class faded, income inequality widened, pensions and job security disappeared, health care costs skyrocketed, and unemployment and poverty rates rose, our long-held national promise that education and hard work would ensure financial prosperity ceased to be true for most Americans.

The modern lottery began in the Northeast and the Rust Belt, where voters were most comfortable with gambling. It was a response to the fiscal crisis of the late-twentieth century, as states’ needs to pay for education and social safety nets outpaced their ability to raise taxes without sparking public rebellion. Lotteries promised that they could raise enough revenue to keep all these public services running smoothly.

While a few states have tried to raise funds through private lotteries in the past, most have relied on state-run lotteries. They all follow a similar pattern: The state legislates a monopoly for itself; establishes a government agency or a corporation licensed by the state to operate the lottery (as opposed to licensing private firms in return for a share of the profits); starts operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and, due to constant pressure for additional revenues, progressively expands its offerings.

In order to ensure that the winners are selected randomly, all the tickets must first be thoroughly mixed by some mechanical means – shaking or tossing – to eliminate bias and other factors that might skew the results. Afterward, a pool is drawn from these tickets. A portion of the pool is used for organizational and promotional costs, while a percentage goes to prizes and profit. The remaining portion of the pool, if there is one, is awarded to the winners. The odds of winning vary widely, but are typically much lower than those of other forms of gambling. In addition, the cost of buying a ticket is normally higher than for other games. The lottery is a form of gambling that can be addictive.