Lottery is a game in which people pay money for a chance to win a prize, based on the drawing of numbers or symbols. Its roots go back to ancient times. Moses used it to distribute land in the Old Testament, and Roman emperors held lotteries to award slaves and public works projects. Today, state-run lotteries are among the world’s most popular forms of gambling, with more than 57 percent of Americans saying they play them.
Lotteries generate enormous profits for states, retailers and the operators that run them. They’re also controversial. Some critics say they’re a form of gambling that exploits poor and vulnerable people, while others complain about the distortions in government spending caused by lottery revenues. Still, the overall popularity of lotteries has prompted governments to adopt them for a wide range of purposes, including raising revenue for infrastructure development and other projects.
Whether they play for prizes, units in a housing complex or kindergarten spots at a reputable school, lottery players have one thing in common: They know that their odds of winning are long. But they keep playing, and the reason is that they like the way it makes them feel, says Leaf Van Boven, a psychology professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies decision-making and counterfactual thoughts. When people imagine losing, they feel worse than when they think about winning. And when they lose, they minimize their personal responsibility by attributing it to something outside their control, such as bad luck.
