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The Wisconsin Lottery invites us to “celebrate 20 years of fun with us!” But is the lottery’s 20th anniversary really a cause to celebrate? Or should it trigger scrutiny of a government program that, broadly speaking, transfers wealth from the poor to the more affluent?

Wisconsin’s lottery is a strange beast. It doesn’t raise general revenue or create a dedicated funding source for a particular government program. Instead, the Wisconsin Lottery is raw economic redistribution -- profits are put directly into the pockets of residential homeowners through a property tax credit. The credit, which varies from year to year depending on ticket sales, was $87 in 2006 and $74 in 2007. The upward income redistribution is awkward to justify -- people who own property tend to be more affluent than those who don’t -- but it’s how our lottery works.

There is no dispute that lotteries wring money from the poor. In Wisconsin, the Associated Press discovered residents in the poorest neighborhoods of the state spend, on average, four times as much on lottery tickets as those in wealthy neighborhoods. It’s the same story across the Unites States. A University of Louisville study revealed that Kentuckians with annual incomes of less than $15,000 spent $9.23 a week on lottery tickets, while those earning over $35,000 spent $7.36. In Maryland, the state’s poorest county had the highest per-capita lottery ticket sales, while the richest county had the lowest.

Sometimes, the worst outcome isn’t losing the lottery, it’s winning the lottery. Researchers have documented the often tragic tales of lottery winners who discover that sudden millions don’t bring happiness but instead attract scam artists, unleash family discord and enable vices. The “Curse of the Lottery” is now part of our mainstream discourse.

It’s one thing to make the libertarian argument that individuals should be allowed to gamble if they’re willing to accept the consequences. It’s quite another for government to assume the role of huckster and undermine the work ethic with the notion of easy, painless wealth. The Wisconsin Lottery is nothing more than trickle-up economics. That’s not a reason to celebrate the lottery; that’s a compelling case for its abolition.