The lottery is a major public policy enterprise that involves millions of Americans and is generating enormous revenues for states. It is one of the few state programs that have achieved broad popular support. But like many such enterprises, it has also generated widespread criticism, particularly over its effects on lower-income groups and on compulsive gamblers.

Since New Hampshire inaugurated the modern era of state lotteries in 1964, most of the controversy over them has focused on alleged negative impacts rather than on the general desirability of such games. State officials have become accustomed to a steady stream of revenue, and they find it difficult to cut back or abolish the program. Politicians, on the other hand, look to the lottery as a source of “painless” funds that enable them to fund education, veterans’ health care, and other programs without increasing taxes.

Moreover, the lottery industry is constantly trying to invent new games and strategies for attracting players. These innovations can have unintended consequences: For example, some state games have been found to skew the number of winners by focusing on numbers that tend to be repeated, while others are designed to generate frequent winners who don’t have the money to continue playing.

Other criticisms of the lottery focus on its marketing and promotional practices. Lottery advertising is widely criticized for misleading consumers about the odds of winning and for inflating the value of a prize (which is usually paid in annual installments, with inflation dramatically eroding its current value). In addition, critics argue that the lottery is at cross-purposes with the overall public interest by promoting gambling rather than serving the needs of the poor and problem gamblers.