This is not a game.
We are not players.
The lottery is very simply this: a state-run monopoly designed to funnel money from the poor into the pockets of the rich. Since the 1600s, lotteries have been a disguised tax on the poor and uneducated, funding projects that primarily benefit the affluent.
One of the first major lottery-funded projects? Harvard University, 1636.
The ‘game’ hasn’t changed much since. State lotteries have long served as regressive taxes on the poor, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.
How the State Lottery Exploits the Poor
- The Lottery is a Monopoly. By law, only the state can run lotteries. It’s illegal for private companies to compete, no matter how predatory the system is. With no alternatives, buyers are stuck with horrible odds and false hope. Billions are spent on lotteries and the state shows no signs of slowing down. Why would they when they have unilateral control over the countries most popular form of ‘entertainment’?
- The Odds are Terrible. Play the Mega Millions every day of your life, and your chances of winning are less than 1 in 10,000. That’s like picking a single four-leaf clover from a football field while blindfolded. These odds are designed to keep you playing, and keep you losing. Visual Capitalist provides a powerful infographic illustrating just how stacked the odds are against players.
- The Most Vulnerable Pay the Price. Lottery ticket buyer demographics consistently show that poor, uneducated, and older individuals spend the most on tickets. Why? The system exploits universal human flaws, like the gambler’s fallacy, which makes people believe a win is “due” after repeated losses.
Each lottery draw is random. Previous losses don’t improve future odds.
Players think they’re “bound to win” soon—an illusion the lottery ruthlessly exploits.
The result? The people who need money the most are the ones most likely to throw it away.
Where Does Lottery Money Go?
- To Running the Lottery. Administrative costs, advertising, and salaries eat up a chunk of the revenue. The system itself produces no real value—just an endless cycle of taking money from the poor to pay for its own operations.
- To Fund Education—But Not Equally. The bulk of lottery revenue is used to fund education. But instead of taxing the wealthy, the state shifts the burden to the poor. Scholarships funded by lottery education revenue often go to affluent students or the “best and brightest”—not the people buying the tickets. The NEA explores how education funding from lotteries is unevenly distributed. Meanwhile, institutions like Harvard and other elite schools have historically been major beneficiaries, further entrenching socioeconomic inequality.
- Back to the Government. Even when someone wins, the government still gets its cut. A $500 million jackpot, after taxes, leaves the winner with roughly $145 million. The government, meanwhile, pockets the rest—guaranteeing its own profit every time.
- Nowhere Helpful. Unlike taxes, which can fund infrastructure or social programs, lotteries provide no intrinsic economic value. It’s a zero-sum game: the state profits, and the poor lose. Here is a breakdown of the journey a single lottery dollar makes in its journey through the system:
The Long-Term Cost of Playing
Playing the lottery keeps people poor. Imagine taking the $2 spent on a daily ticket and investing it instead. At a 9% annual return, that’s almost $600,000 after 50 years. With the current cost of living, this money will be vital as the coming generations age. We cannot afford to continue down the current path.
Instead, the lottery robs the poor of their chance to save, invest, or spend on things that actually improve their lives. Worse, it keeps them trapped in a cycle of poverty, using false hope as a leash. This infographic perfectly illustrates how the lottery disproportionately burdens the nation’s poorest.
The Lottery is a Trap—Stop Playing
The lottery is state-run exploitation, preying on the poor to fund projects for the rich. It hijacks basic human psychology with slick ads and stories of winners, selling a fantasy that only deepens financial struggles.
It is disguises with harmless terms like “game” and “playing”. This language is profoundly misleading. It offers no skill, strategy, or even camaraderie, only exploitation.
There’s no fair chance, and no benefit beyond the fleeting rush of hope. By calling it a “game,” the state masks its true nature—a financial trap designed to siphon money from the poor. “Playing” suggests fun and leisure, but for most, it’s a desperate act born of necessity, not choice. Even by gamblings standards, the lotteries odds are horrible.
The state has tricked us into thinking lotteries are harmless games or helpful public funding tools.
Do not let them win.
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