A lottery is a type of gambling where people can win money or other prizes by randomly selecting numbers or symbols. These numbers or symbols can be anything from letters to digits. Some states have laws against playing lotteries while others encourage them to help bolster state budgets and support other programs like education, environmental protection, road construction, and more. Some state-sponsored lotteries even have their own websites where players can play games online or buy tickets through credit cards.

While it may be great for states whose coffers swell thanks to ticket sales and winners, there is a certain level of skepticism about how much good the lottery actually does. For one, studies have shown that lottery revenues tend to come from low-income communities and those with gambling addictions. And because many states require that winnings be paid in cash, they can be quickly drained by those who buy large amounts of tickets.

The biggest problem, however, comes from those who don’t play regularly. As HuffPost reports, “the vast majority of lottery revenue — 70 to 80 percent — is derived from just 10 percent of the population.” The rest, primarily from regular players, goes to state governments for things like education and roads.

Then there are the super-users, who purchase thousands of tickets at a time to maximize their chances of winning. This is how a Michigan couple in their 60s made millions over nine years, turning the lottery into a full-time hobby.