In the United States, lotteries attract a large and varied public. They have broad general support: the vast majority of adults play them at least occasionally. They also develop specific constituencies, including convenience store operators (as the usual vendors); lottery suppliers (whose heavy contributions to state political campaigns are frequently reported); teachers (in states in which lottery revenues are earmarked for education); and state legislators (who quickly become accustomed to the extra revenue).

Despite such widespread support, lotteries face significant criticism. Among other things, they are alleged to promote addictive gambling behavior and to be a major regressive tax on lower-income groups. These are largely issues of public policy, and they reflect a conflict between the desire to raise revenues and the obligation to protect the welfare of the public.

A good way to avoid shared prizes is to choose numbers that are not based on birthdays or other personal numbers, like home addresses and social security numbers. This will increase your chances of winning a larger jackpot.

Despite these issues, lottery advocates point to a number of benefits of the lottery, such as its ability to fund educational programs and social services for the poor. They also argue that it is more efficient and less corrupt than other forms of government spending. Moreover, they argue that the large prize amounts help deter crime and that lottery money is distributed fairly to all citizens. Yet, these arguments are largely unconvincing.