The official lottery is booming, with Americans spending billions of dollars each year. The odds of winning are often very low—just one in 292.2 million for Powerball and Mega Millions—but big jackpots get lots of free media attention, fueling players’ frenzy and driving ticket sales. Despite the huge revenues, state lotteries have been controversial for years. Many people complain that they are regressive and lead lower income communities to believe that winning the lottery is a quick way to build wealth. This can cause them to spend more money on tickets, leading to debt and poverty for many families.

Originally, lotteries were used by governments to raise funds for important projects such as building towns and fortifications, and they were a popular form of entertainment. In fact, Denmark Vesey, an enslaved man in Charleston, South Carolina, won a lottery and used the prize money to buy his freedom in 1822. However, religious and moral sensibilities started turning against gambling in general, and the lottery specifically, in the 1800s. Corruption was also a factor, as many state lotteries were rife with crooked organizers.

The New York state lottery began in 1967, and it has raised billions of dollars in aid for education since then. Today, the lottery offers multiple games including instant scratch-off tickets, three-digit and four-digit games akin to numbers games, and video lottery terminals. The New York lottery is overseen by the New York State Gaming Commission, which works in cooperation with the Department of Taxation and Finance.