Lottery may seem like a new phenomenon in a culture that birthed Instagram and the Kardashians, but the idea of winning big on a random drawing has been around for centuries. The first lottery-like games were held during Roman Saturnalian celebrations, when guests were given tickets for a chance to win prizes such as fancy dinnerware.

The word lottery itself — from the Middle Dutch lotterie or loterie, meaning “action of casting lots” — appeared in English in 1569. Lottery became a popular way for states to raise money during the Revolutionary War and other periods of financial crisis. Lottery advocates argue that because gambling is a natural human activity, state governments shouldn’t outlaw it; instead they should legalize and regulate it for public benefit.

But the history of lottery shows that this rationalization is flawed. People who play the lottery tend to have a deep-seated desire for money and the things it can buy. And that’s why God’s law forbids covetousness (Exodus 20:17). The same moral sensibilities that drove the lottery to popularity in the 1800s — when lottery organizers could sell tickets and abscond with proceeds without awarding prizes — also helped turn the tide against it.

Today, states bend over backward to make sure that lottery drawings are truly random. Balls are bounced around in a machine, blown by air and hit by paddles that are randomly controlled. The odds of winning vary wildly depending on the price of tickets and the number of combinations of numbers purchased. Most of the money goes toward prizes and administrative costs; some of it is allocated to education.