A lottery is any competition that relies on chance for prize money. The term would include any contest that has multiple stages, or even just one stage, and that depends exclusively on chance (although if the rest of the arrangement requires skill to continue, it can be called something else). Lotteries are very popular. It’s rare for any state legislature to pass a law authorizing them without a public referendum on the matter, and the majority of state residents have always voted for them.
Cohen’s story of this phenomenon starts in the nineteen-sixties, when growing awareness about how much money could be made in the gambling business collided with a crisis in state funding. With a rapidly expanding population and rising costs for wars, the welfare safety net, and education, states found it increasingly difficult to balance their budgets without raising taxes or cutting services, which were deeply unpopular with voters.
Many Americans responded to this dilemma by turning to the lottery, where they could dream of becoming the exception to the rule and reclaim the old national promise that hard work and personal responsibility would lead to economic security and prosperity for their children. But this obsession with lottery winnings coincided with a dramatic decline in financial security for most Americans, as income gaps widened and the health-care cost spiraled, jobs disappeared and pensions were cut back.
Rich people do play the lottery, of course; one of the biggest jackpots in history was won by three asset managers in Greenwich, Connecticut. But the wealthy purchase fewer tickets than the poor, and their purchases represent a smaller percentage of their incomes. This means that, despite the flurry of press coverage about lottery winners, most state-sponsored lotteries still rely primarily on the support of the middle class.
