A lottery is a form of gambling where people pay a small amount of money to have a chance at winning a big prize. Sometimes the prizes are cash or goods, and sometimes they’re public services like school or hospital construction or road repairs. The first recorded lotteries were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century, to raise money for town fortifications and to help the poor. Since then, they’ve become popular with a variety of groups. The National Football League holds a lottery to determine draft picks, and the NBA does as well. But there’s a dark underbelly to these games that’s worth examining.

Lottery promoters like to imply that playing the lottery is harmless fun, and they’re right to an extent. But they also know that many people are highly committed gamblers who spend a large percentage of their incomes on tickets and play them regularly. And, despite the fact that most people will never win, they can’t stop themselves from thinking about it and dreaming about it.

State governments that hold lotteries have a clear interest in keeping their coffers full of lottery proceeds. But they’re not necessarily concerned about their residents’ financial health; studies show that the popularity of a lottery is unrelated to a state’s actual fiscal situation. Lotteries tend to be popular at times when voters are anxious about tax increases or budget cuts, but they’re just as likely to be adopted when a state’s fiscal condition is strong.

While state coffers swell from ticket sales and winners, there’s one big problem with this arrangement: Most of the money comes from low-income and minority communities, where there are lots of people who would love to ditch their day jobs for something more rewarding. And those dreams are fueled by the ad campaigns that feature billboards touting the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots, as well as the fact that the money spent on lottery tickets is often spent by the same people who shop at convenience stores (where the lotteries are usually sold) and work for lottery suppliers (whose contributions to state political campaigns are also routinely reported).

Even when someone does actually win, they’re not exactly set up for a life of luxury. In addition to owing huge taxes on the windfall, they’re often stuck in a bad job or living with an unwieldy mortgage, and they’re still not guaranteed of a better future. So what’s the point? People might feel they’re getting a free ride from the government, but the truth is that the lottery is just another version of the same old broken system. The only thing it does for people is make them richer, but only for a little while. Then it’s back to drudgery and broken dreams. Maybe that’s why it has such enduring appeal. It’s a game that allows us to pretend for just a moment that we’ve escaped the rules of the world and made our own.