If you’ve ever played the lottery, chances are you know it’s a game of chance. But you might not realize just how much of a gamble it is. In fact, a person’s chances of being struck by lightning or becoming a billionaire are greater than winning the lottery jackpot. Despite this, lottery players continue to spend $50, $100 or even more per week on tickets. It may seem inexplicable, but people have a fundamental desire to take that long shot at getting rich.

That’s why jackpots can get so huge. Super-sized prizes drive ticket sales, and they also earn lotteries a windfall of free publicity on news websites and newscasts. But there’s something else at play here: a sense of hope. People feel that if they can just win the lottery, they’ll be on their way to a better life.

Lotteries can be a great source of revenue for public services, and they’re easy to organize. It’s possible that they were first introduced as a way for states to expand their social safety nets without having to raise taxes too heavily on middle-class and working-class families. In the immediate post-World War II period, there was a belief that lottery revenue would enable states to eliminate all other forms of taxation.

But the lottery is still a form of gambling, and its odds are always stacked against you. There are ways to minimize the risk, though. For example, you can play a scratch-off or pull tab lottery. These types of tickets have numbers on the back that must match those on the front in order to win. The back of the ticket is usually hidden behind a perforated paper tab that must be broken open to see it. Pull-tab tickets are often cheaper than other forms of lottery and have smaller payouts.

Buying more tickets can increase your chances of winning, and it’s best to choose random numbers that aren’t close together. Avoid numbers that are associated with birthdays, anniversaries, or other events. Purchasing tickets in groups can improve your odds as well. And if you’re worried about forgetting the date of the drawing, mark it on your calendar or set an alarm.

But if you do win, remember that the prize money doesn’t sit in a vault waiting for you to claim it. The amount advertised for a winning ticket is what you’d get if the current jackpot were invested in an annuity over 30 years. Then you’d get a one-time payment when you won, followed by 29 annual payments that grow each year by a percentage. The total value of your winnings is also taxed. If you want to minimize your tax bill, you might choose the cash option instead of the annuity option. But beware that you will have to pay capital gains tax on any earnings over $5 million. If you’re considering it, consult a tax professional.