What Makes People Play the Lottery?

Lottery is a competition in which numbered tickets are sold for the chance to win a prize based on a random draw. Generally, money is the prize, but other prizes can include units in a subsidized housing block or kindergarten placements at a public school. A lottery can also be run to distribute something with limited supply, such as a draft pick in sports.

While some people play the lottery for fun, others believe it is their path to a better life. Despite the low odds of winning, many people continue to play, contributing to billions in annual sales for states that run them. What is it about the lottery that keeps people coming back? Leaf Van Boven, a psychology professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, has some answers.

Van Boven studies the way people think about the future, particularly how counterfactual thoughts influence their decision making. In a recent study, he asked participants to imagine they had won the lottery and then to compare that result with their actual choices. The results were clear: Imagining a positive outcome led to more playing, even when people had lost several times before.

The reason for this is that the winners’ choices are shaped by their imagined outcome, Van Boven says. In addition, the jovial-like atmosphere that surrounds the lottery can lead to an increased sense of control. This can be problematic, as the reality is that the vast majority of lottery prizes go to ticket holders who do not spend their winnings wisely.