Historically, public lotteries were common ways to raise money for local purposes. For example, the city of Bruges and several other Low Countries towns held lotteries to finance town fortifications and help the poor. Lotteries also played a role in colonial America, where they raised funds for projects such as paving streets and building wharves. In addition, George Washington sponsored a lottery to choose conscripts for the Revolutionary War.

In the modern context, lotteries are state-sponsored games of chance that award prizes to players who match a series of numbers or symbols on a ticket. The prize amount varies according to the game, but it is usually a combination of one large sum and many smaller ones. Lottery revenue typically expands rapidly after the game is introduced, then levels off and may even decline over time. To maintain or increase revenues, lottery commissions introduce new games on a regular basis.

People tend to like to gamble, and there’s a certain inextricable appeal to the lottery, as well as the fact that it raises money for states. But there are bigger messages that the lottery is delivering in the way it markets itself. One is that it’s a great way to get rich quickly, an appealing message in an age of income inequality and limited social mobility.

Another is that playing the lottery makes you a good citizen because it supports state programs. This is a dangerous message to rely on, especially given that state lottery revenue doesn’t actually support those programs very much.