Official lottery – play the games, win big prizes

The app gives you access to official state lottery games from your phone, including Powerball and Mega Millions. You can also play games like Take5 and Instant Wins. The apps are vetted by state lotteries and are safe to use (except while driving or operating motor vehicles). The app is available in all states where gambling is legal.

But despite their popularity, there are serious concerns about these games: they’re often considered a “tax on the stupid,” and they are highly regressive in terms of the percentage of income spent on them. And while defenders argue that they raise money for the state, those claims are often made without context: a quick glance at state budgets shows that lotteries actually bring in relatively small amounts of revenue compared to other forms of taxation.

The immediate post-World War II period saw states casting around for ways to fund large new social safety nets without angering an anti-tax electorate. In this climate, lotteries emerged as a solution that offered the allure of hefty jackpots while, by definition, relieving people of their taxes.