New Hampshire Lottery

A lottery is an arrangement in which prizes are allocated by a random process. Typically, payment of a consideration (money or work) is required for a chance to win. Some examples of this type of arrangement are the lottery for kindergarten admission, the lottery for occupying units in a subsidized housing block, and the selection of jury members.

Since New Hampshire launched the modern era of state lotteries in 1964, they have developed broad popular support and become one of the most successful ways to raise tax revenues. Lotteries have been able to sustain their popularity despite a variety of arguments both for and against them. Nonetheless, they have generally followed a similar pattern: state governments legislate a monopoly for themselves; establish a public agency or corporation to run the lottery; begin operations with a small number of relatively simple games; and continually introduce new games in order to expand and maintain revenues.

In the end, it is the entertainment value of the lottery for individual participants that makes purchasing tickets a rational choice. This value is sufficient to outweigh the disutility of a monetary loss, especially for individuals with low incomes.

The other major message lotteries rely on is that even if you lose, you should feel good about buying a ticket because it’s a way to do your civic duty. In addition to generating revenue, lottery proceeds are often used to fund specific social welfare programs and other activities that would otherwise be unavailable or difficult for the state to pay for.