Lottery is a form of gambling in which people purchase numbered tickets that are then drawn for prizes. Prizes may be cash or goods, and the winners are those whose numbers match those drawn. It is a form of chance distribution that has been popular throughout history and remains a popular activity today. It is the most common form of gambling and has become a major source of revenue for many governments. In the United States, it is a legal activity in some jurisdictions, while others ban it completely.
Although lottery is often categorized as a gambling activity, the term also refers to other kinds of arrangements in which a random selection process determines some allocation of a given resource or good. For example, the selection of jury members from lists of registered voters is a kind of lottery. Another instance is military conscription, where a random procedure determines who will serve in the armed forces.
Modern lotteries are usually government-sponsored and offer multiple prize categories, ranging from large sums of money to goods or services. Some have fixed prize structures, while others have a variable payout structure based on the number of tickets sold. In either case, the value of the prize is determined by the amount remaining after expenses, including profits for the promoter and taxes or other revenues, have been deducted.
Lotteries can be seen as a way to replace traditional state revenue sources. During the immediate post-World War II period, they allowed states to expand their social safety nets without imposing especially onerous tax burdens on middle- and working-class citizens. But in the longer term, lottery proceeds will prove to be less valuable to state budgets than other sources of public revenue.
Some states have shifted their messages to emphasize the entertainment value of winning, as well as promoting lottery participation as an inherent virtue. But this misses the fact that lottery play is a substantial behavioral cost for most people. It is hard to justify such an expense, even for those who can afford it. In general, the disutility of a monetary loss must be at least as great as the expected utility of non-monetary benefits to make a ticket purchase a rational choice for most people.
Lottery commissions try to obscure this fact by making their games seem fun and promoting them as a philanthropic enterprise. But if you talk to lottery players, the vast majority of whom are committed gamblers who spend $50 or $100 a week on tickets, you find that they take their gambling seriously. They are not irrational; they’re just not buying into the message that state-sponsored gambling is a meritocratic way to support your children’s education or social mobility. They’re just wasting their money.
Bahati nasibu ni aina ya kamari ambapo watu hununua tiketi zilizo na nambari ambazo kisha huchaguliwa kwa ajili ya zawadi. Zawadi zaweza kuwa pesa taslimu au bidhaa, na washindi ni wale ambao namba zao zinafanana na zile zilizochorwa. Ni aina ya usambazaji wa bahati ambayo imekuwa maarufu katika historia yote na bado ni shughuli maarufu leo. Ni aina ya kamari ya kawaida zaidi na imekuwa chanzo kikuu cha mapato kwa serikali nyingi. Huko Marekani, ni jambo linaloruhusiwa kisheria katika maeneo fulani, ilhali mengine yanapigwa marufuku kabisa. Ingawa bahati nasibu mara nyingi ni categorized kama shughuli ya kamari, neno pia inahusu aina nyingine ya mipango ambayo mchakato wa uteuzi random huamua baadhi ya mgawo wa rasilimali fulani au nzuri. Kwa mfano, uteuzi wa washiriki wa baraza la mahakama kutoka kwa orodha za wapiga kura waliosajiliwa ni aina ya bahati nasibu. Mfano mwingine ni utumishi wa kijeshi, ambapo utaratibu wa nasibu huamua ni nani atakayetumikia katika majeshi. Lotari za kisasa kwa kawaida hufadhiliwa na serikali na hutoa aina nyingi za tuzo, kuanzia kiasi kikubwa cha pesa hadi bidhaa au huduma. Baadhi yao wana miundo ya tuzo iliyowekwa, wakati wengine wana muundo wa malipo yanayobadilika kulingana na idadi ya tiketi zilizouzwa. Katika hali yoyote, thamani ya tuzo huamuliwa na kiasi kilichobaki baada ya gharama, ikiwa ni pamoja na faida kwa mtangazaji na kodi au mapato mengine, yameondolewa. Mashindano ya bahati nasibu yanaweza kuonwa kuwa njia ya kuchukua nafasi ya vyanzo vya mapato ya jadi ya serikali. Katika kipindi cha baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia, serikali za Marekani ziliruhusu nchi kupanua mifumo yao ya usalama wa kijamii bila kuweka mzigo mkubwa wa kodi kwa wananchi wa tabaka la kati na la wafanyakazi. Lakini kwa muda mrefu, mapato ya bahati nasibu yatakuwa na thamani kidogo kwa bajeti za serikali kuliko vyanzo vingine vya mapato ya umma. Baadhi ya majimbo yamebadilisha ujumbe wao ili kusisitiza thamani ya burudani ya kushinda, na pia kukuza ushiriki wa bahati nasibu kama wema wa asili. Lakini hii hupoteza ukweli kwamba kucheza bahati nasibu ni gharama kubwa ya tabia kwa watu wengi. Ni vigumu kuhalalisha gharama kama hiyo, hata kwa wale wanaoweza kulipa. Kwa ujumla, disutility ya hasara ya fedha lazima angalau kuwa kubwa kama utility inatarajiwa ya faida zisizo za fedha kufanya tiketi ya ununuzi chaguo busara kwa watu wengi. Tume za bahati nasibu hujaribu kuficha ukweli huu kwa kufanya michezo yao ionekane kuwa yenye kufurahisha na kuitangaza kuwa biashara ya kutoa misaada. Lakini ukizungumza na wachezaji wa bahati nasibu, wengi wao ni wachezaji wa kubahatisha ambao hutumia $ 50 au $ 100 kwa wiki kwenye tiketi, unapata kwamba wao huchukua kamari yao kwa uzito. Wao si irrational; wao ni tu si kununua katika ujumbe kwamba serikali inayodhamini kamari ni njia meritocratic kusaidia elimu ya watoto wako au uhamaji wa kijamii. Wao hutumia pesa zao bure tu.