A competition based on chance, in which numbered tickets are sold and prizes are awarded to winners who match certain numbers. Lotteries may be run by private companies, governments, or charities. They are often used as a way to raise money.

In the United States, 44 of 50 states (and the District of Columbia) now have lotteries; six don’t — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah, and Nevada. Despite the absence of a national lottery, there are two multi-state games that offer huge jackpots and have become de facto national lotteries.

Lotteries are good for state coffers, which swell from ticket sales and winnings. But they’re also bad for people: studies show that the bulk of lottery revenue is gathered from low-income and minority neighborhoods, where gambling addiction is more common and there are few other economic options.

It’s no secret that many people play the lottery for the chance to change their lives forever. They have quotes-unquote systems that aren’t borne out by statistical reasoning about lucky numbers and stores and times of day to buy tickets. They know they’re not going to win, but they have this irrational, deep-seated desire to do it anyway. In a society of inequality and limited social mobility, the lottery seems to be their last hope for a lightning strike of fame or fortune. Which is what makes the slick marketing campaigns that tout the size of jackpots so troubling. They skew public opinion about the games and obscure their regressive nature by making them seem fun and harmless.