The modern lottery era began in 1964 with New Hampshire, and was followed by many other states, however the mo lottery took a while to join in and have their own lottery. It wasn't until November 6, 1984 that Missouri voters approved mo lottery by overwhelmingly passing Amendment 5, which revoked a section of the state's constitution prohibiting a lottery system. The Amendment passed with 70 percent of the vote, making the mo lottery the 23^rd lottery in the United States of America.

In June of 1985, the Missouri state Senate Bill 44 was passed, which ultimately led to the lottery being introduced to the state. In January the following year the first mo lottery sales began with the instant game 'Jackpot '86.' Later in October, the state started selling it's first game with a minimum $1 million jackpot. In 1987, Missouri joined the Mulit-State Lottery Association (also known as the MUSL). In January of 1988, the Supreme Court approved Lotto America sales, which was a Multi-State Lottery Association game.

In 1992, seventy-eight percent of Missouri voters approve Amendment 11, which earmarked lottery proceeds to go to public education. The Amendment went into effect in July of the next year. Dan and Elizabeth Greenwood of St. Louis won $4.4 million playing the lottery, making them the 100^th lottery millionaires. Missouri lottery took off from there and has enjoyed a very fruitful tenure as the pre-eminent form of gambling in the state.

While there are many proponents of the lottery, as seen by the overwhelming majority of voters approving Amendments to allow lottery, there are still many detractors who oppose the lottery and think that it carries a negative impact on the country.

The people who oppose the lottery state that they are nothing more than a way to tax willing citizens without having to actually raise taxes. While the funds that come from lotteries are supposed to be made public, critics of the lottery often question the validity of these publications and accuse the government of concealing exactly where the money goes. They argue that the money is not being allocated to the proper places, and instead going to much less needed areas.

Another popular argument that critics of the lottery have is the widespread problem that some Americans have with gambling. The growing number of people who have become addicted to gambling in the United States is staggering, and opposers of the lottery place a lot of the blame on the shoulders of lotteries for giving people with this addiction the freedom to gamble at will. They liken it to a gateway drug that opens the door for further problems in the future.

The detractors of the lottery seem to have no chance of slowing down the incredible growth that lotteries have seen over the past 50 years. With multi-jurisdictional games such as Mega Millions and Powerball exploding in popularity, the lottery looks as though it is here to stay.

It is very important to remember that while playing the lottery can be an extremely fun experience, it is also a form of gambling and should be treated as such. Responsible adults who have the ability and means to play should be the only ones who play the lottery. There are several detractors of the lottery that claim that the system is a gateway for people to get addicted to gambling and therefore should be outlawed. People just need to take responsibility and play the game for fun and not for profit. Then the lottery provides the kind of 'dollar and a dream' mentality that makes this country such a great one.