For me personally, state lotteries work great. They're a very regressive tax. I also don't like them much and appreciate that, at least in my state, advertising and promotion was largely phased out.

[ADDED: In case anyone missed the sarcasm I'm not a huge fan of state lotteries because they target the people who can least afford them. That said, I realize many buyers would go the less regulated route if they didn't exist.]