Fifty years ago, familiar images of the lottery would have been strange, as no state lottery existed then. Few researchers have uncovered the obscure role lotteries play in the changing composition of American taxation. Even less is known about what role race plays in this process. More than simply taxing those on the social margins, the emergence of state lotteries in contemporary American history represents something much more fundamental about state fiscal policy. This book not only uncovers the underlying racial factors that contextualize lottery proliferation in the U.S., but also reveals the racial consequences that lotteries have in terms of redistributing tax liability.

Foreword: Racialized Taxation: Furthering Racialized Social Systems Theory

[Eduardo Bonilla-Silva]

Introduction: Black Dollars, White Pockets: Looting by Another Name

1. "No Taxation Without Discrimination": "The Lottery Tax," State Finance, and Racism

2. Lottery Studies and Their Discontents: A Critical Review

3. "Mad as Hell" Tax Rebels and a Changing Tax Composition: A Historical Corrective for How State Lotteries Emerged

4. Dissecting the Evolution of Lotteries and Their Racial Implications

5. Who Plays? Who Pays?: A Case Study of Illinois

6. The Hidden Mechanisms of Racism: Placing Lotteries in Broader Contexts of How Race Works in America

Postscript: Going All In: Available Policy Alternatives

Appendix A: Supplementary Material

Appendix B: Methods

Kasey Henricks is a Law and Social Science Fellow at the American Bar Foundation and a Ph.D. Student in Sociology at Loyola University Chicago.