The official lottery offers you a variety of state-licensed games for your chance to win big. You can play Powerball & Mega Millions jackpot games as well as fun daily games. This app allows you to scan and check winning tickets, view your ticket serial number, purchase select state lottery games, find a retailer, and more. You must be 18 or older to use this app. Play responsibly.

In the late-twentieth century, a lot of state governments were suffering from what Cohen calls “tax revolt.” Voters in these states, which were not keen on raising sales or income taxes, found that a lottery was the perfect solution, because the money it brought in would allow them to maintain their current services without having to resort to tax hikes.

State lotteries are run independently by each jurisdiction, but they often cooperate with each other to market games spanning a wider geographical footprint and offering larger jackpots. These consortiums are sometimes called “national lotteries.”

In the United States, lottery games are marketed as a way for citizens to build wealth. However, many researchers have argued that the system is actually regressive, as the lottery tends to attract low income Americans and disproportionately transfers wealth from those communities to white middle-class families. This has led to criticism of lottery games for being a “tax on the poor.” Despite the low odds of winning, people still spend a significant amount of their budgets on them.