When someone buys a lottery ticket, they’re making a calculated gamble that they will win. The odds of winning vary based on the size of the jackpot and the number of tickets sold. But there’s also an ugly underbelly to the game: even if you don’t win, you can still lose a lot of money.

The modern era of state lotteries began in 1964, when New Hampshire established one in hopes of finding additional revenue for education and cutting into illegal gambling. Other states soon followed, launching their lotteries with the idea that the games could help state governments expand social safety net services without raising taxes.

Lotteries are an example of a “non-transparent” government activity, which means that the public has no way to know how much money the state is spending. The state sets the rules and oversees the operation, but there is no independent audit to verify what is being spent or how much is being collected.

There are some ways to reduce your risk of losing money. For starters, avoid numbers that repeat and look for “singletons” — digits that appear only once on the ticket. The more singletons there are, the better your odds of winning.

Another important step is to make sure that you’re buying the right kind of tickets. Some are better for smaller prizes, while others have bigger jackpots. You’ll also want to choose whether you want a lump sum payment or an annuity that will pay out payments over 30 years.