Many people dream about what they would do with a big lottery win. Depending on your lifestyle, that could mean instant spending sprees, a luxury vacation, or paying off mortgages and student loans. Then there’s the rest, which you could put into various savings and investments accounts to grow over time. Ultimately, it comes down to the question of how you would best manage this windfall and turn it into an ongoing stream of income.
One way is by buying multiple tickets. According to a study by Romanian mathematician Stefan Mandel, doing so will make you more likely to win. His formula is simple: If you buy tickets that cover every possible combination of numbers, you will be more likely to hit the jackpot. It’s an idea that’s been gaining in popularity since Mandel published his results online last year. Using this strategy, you can increase your odds of winning by as much as seven times over what you’d have if you only bought one ticket per drawing.
That’s just one of the ways you can try to improve your chances of winning, but it’s not foolproof. And even if you do win, there’s no guarantee you will keep the money long enough to reach your goals. In fact, studies have shown that most winners will spend most of the prize money in just a few years. Those who manage to hold onto their winnings longer, however, will see a greater return on their investment. That’s why it’s important to understand the odds of winning before you purchase a ticket.
Lotteries have a long history in America, including in colonial-era America when they were used to finance public works projects like building roads and wharves. And in the 18th century, lotteries helped pay for Harvard, Yale, and other elite universities. But the principal argument behind state-sponsored lotteries has always been that they’re a painless source of revenue for states, since players are voluntarily spending their money instead of being taxed.
But the truth is, lotteries don’t bring in as much money for states as they say. And that’s because the money that goes to prizes is actually split among commissions for lottery retailers and the overhead of the lottery system itself, not to mention state government programs for infrastructure, education, and gambling addiction services.
And that’s because the real message of the lottery is not that it’s a fun way to gamble, but that it’s a great way for states to avoid taxes on their middle-class and working-class citizens. And it’s a dangerous message because it obscures how much people play the lottery and how big of an impact that plays on inequality.
Currently, 44 states and the District of Columbia run lotteries. The six that don’t are Alabama, Alaska, Utah, Mississippi, and Nevada—the latter two probably due to religious concerns. But for the other states, the lottery is a powerful source of revenue that’s been helping them grow their social safety nets.
