Official lottery offers fun and convenience for players on the go. The free app lets you scan tickets, enter Second Chance drawings, and view results for your favorite lottery games.*

The early years of state lotteries were a time of austerity for many states. They were short of cash and needed to pay for public services, but they could not raise taxes without enraging voters. For legislators in this tax-averse era, lottery proceeds seemed like a budget miracle: they appeared to magically float state coffers.

In this environment, lottery supporters argued that gamblers are inevitable, and states might as well make money off them by offering them the opportunity to win huge jackpots. They also portrayed the lottery as a way to pay for a single line item, invariably education but sometimes other government services such as aid to veterans or elder care. This narrow approach appealed to voters because it meant that a vote for the lottery was not a vote against gambling.

Critics argue that the lottery preys on poor people, particularly those in urban and rural areas. The lottery is marketed in these communities, which are disproportionately Black and Latino, with the message that buying a ticket is a fast way to wealth. In reality, they are continuously paying into a system that gives them nothing in return and that transfers wealth from their neighborhoods to those of upper-class families who attend colleges far away.