But even though the lotteries are required by law to return slightly more than half the money to players (this varies by state), the fact is that most tickets are losers and most people who play the lottery spend more money on it than they get back. Some people characterize state lotteries as “a self-imposed tax” and I rather agree with that assessment. While you cannot change the odds of the game, there are ways to maximize your chances of buying a winning ticket. Scratch off lottery tickets are very popular. About the only guaranteed benefit you can count on, though, is that at least 1/3 of the money will go into the state treasury - maybe to pay for education, maybe to be used for other purposes. These quick little lottery games tell you immediately if you have won anything. You can buy them at gas stations, grocery stores, and all sorts of retailers. Scratch-off tickets are now the mainstay item for most state lotteries in the United States.