A competition based on chance, in which numbered tickets are sold and prizes are given to the holders of numbers drawn at random. It may be organized by the state or a charity, and it is often a method of raising money. Also called lotto and sweepstakes. Some governments outlaw it, while others endorse it and regulate it to some extent.

Some people just like to gamble, and there is a certain appeal in the idea that one day your ticket could pay off — that you can finally have that nice house or car, or send your kids to college. But there is a lot more to lottery than that, and we should be clear about the ways that it can manipulate our behavior and take advantage of us.

I’ve talked to a number of lottery players, including some who have been playing for years and spend $50 or $100 a week on tickets. They defy the expectations that you might have going into a conversation with them, which is that they’re irrational and don’t know that their odds are bad. They have quote-unquote systems that are totally not borne out by statistical reasoning, about lucky numbers and stores and the times of day to buy tickets and so forth. They’re also aware that they are spending a lot of their income on something that isn’t guaranteed to make them happy.

There is no doubt that a large percentage of lottery players are not aware of the odds of winning, but there is an even more insidious way that these games manipulate them. In addition to the obvious, which is that they are essentially games of chance, the underlying message is that buying a ticket is a civic duty. It’s not just a good thing to do; it’s actually a way to help the children or save the city.

The reality is that a very small percentage of the money that lottery players spend goes to any specific cause, and most of what it does go toward administrative costs. But the larger issue is how lottery advertising manipulates the behavior of its player base, and that’s a message worth thinking about in an age of inequality and limited social mobility.