The Public Good and the Lottery
Across the United States, lottery tickets are sold in the billions every year. Some people play for fun, and others believe that winning the jackpot will solve all their problems. The truth is that the odds of winning are very low. Despite this, many people are still convinced that the lottery is their ticket to a better life.
Lottery advertising often claims that the proceeds will benefit a specific public good, such as education. However, a number of studies have shown that this claim is misleading. For example, as the chart below shows, the overall distribution of lottery prize payments is skewed by a small percentage of very large winners. This is why it’s important to keep in mind that the majority of lottery prizes go to smaller winners, who receive a fraction of the total prize pool.
The fact is that the vast majority of lottery revenue goes to paying out prizes, not to state government operations. In addition, most people are not aware that they are effectively paying a hidden tax when they buy lottery tickets. In fact, it’s likely that most consumers would be quite shocked if they knew just how much money their purchases were actually raising for state coffers.
It should also be noted that, despite claims to the contrary, the popularity of state lotteries is not related to the actual fiscal health of a state’s government. Indeed, Clotfelter and Cook report that state lotteries have won broad public approval even when a state’s government is in healthy financial condition.
Instead, state officials are relying on a message that combines two elements: the specific benefit to education and the general idea that lotteries are “good for the state.” It is true that lottery revenues are an important source of revenue for state governments, but they should not be seen as a way to avoid the need for other types of taxes.
In fact, the development of lottery programs is a classic example of how state policy is made without regard to the larger context. State lawmakers and executives have a tendency to make piecemeal decisions about gambling, and then they just let it evolve. As a result, it is rare for any one state to have an integrated “gambling policy.”
The question that should be asked is whether this sort of state promotion of gambling is appropriate. It is certainly at cross-purposes with the state’s goal of maximizing revenues, and it is certainly not at all helpful in promoting a sense of social responsibility. Moreover, it is at odds with the public’s interest in having a more transparent form of state taxation.
