The casting of lots to make decisions and determine fates has a long record in human history, including many instances in the Bible. The lottery, as a method of allocating money prizes to participants, is much more recent. It first appeared in Europe around 1500 in cities trying to raise funds for defending their walls or helping the poor, but it did not achieve general appeal until Francis I of France permitted lotteries for private and public profit in the early 1600s.
The principal argument used to justify state lotteries has been that players voluntarily spend their own money (as opposed to the general population being taxed) for the benefit of the public good. This message is particularly powerful in times of economic stress, when the prospect of higher taxes or reduced public services is most feared. But research shows that the popularity of lotteries is not linked to state governments’ actual fiscal condition, and they continue to win broad approval even when states have ample resources.
In their effort to understand why people play the lottery, Clotfelter and Cook interviewed a number of players—people who buy tickets every week and have spent years doing so. They talked about the irrational systems they devise, about lucky numbers and stores and what type of ticket to buy; how they feel a moral obligation to “help the state” (even though winning only takes a tiny fraction of the total prize); and how they know that the odds are long. In talking to these people, researchers were surprised to find that they actually understood the odds and the nature of the game.