While lottery advertising often tries to make winning appear as easy as buying a ticket and matching numbers, the odds of winning are far from simple. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the dream of hitting it big. In fact, you can improve your chances of becoming a lottery millionaire by playing smartly and following proven strategies for success.

The first step in preparing for lottery victory is to put together a team of professionals, including an attorney, accountant and financial planner, says Kathryn Kapoor, a professor of statistics at the University of Texas and author of a book on lottery strategy. The team will help you decide whether to accept the prize in the form of an annuity or cash and advise you on how to structure your investments, she adds. You should also consider whether you want to make public your name and how much you plan to spend on tickets each week, Kapoor says. Doing so may prevent you from being the target of scams and long-lost friends who want to rekindle old acquaintances, she adds.

For many people, purchasing a lottery ticket is a low-risk investment with the potential for high returns. However, critics point to a study by Bankrate that found lottery players as a group contribute billions in government receipts that could have gone toward debt repayment or savings for retirement and college tuition. For the lower-income players, even small purchases of a lottery ticket or two can add up to thousands of dollars in forgone savings over time.

Lotteries were once a popular way for state governments to raise money for everything from church buildings and public schools to roads, bridges, canals and even wars. In the early 17th century, Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to buy cannons for Philadelphia’s defense. George Washington ran several lotteries to purchase land and slaves. Today, 44 states and the District of Columbia run lotteries. Alabama, Alaska, Utah and Mississippi don’t, while Hawaii has chosen to avoid them altogether. The reason for the six states’ absences range from religious concerns to a belief that gambling is already too prevalent in their states.

The lottery’s roots are as ancient as the history of America itself. Until the 1960s, when states began to privatize their lotteries, they were often considered painless forms of taxation. Then they became a tool for social mobility, allowing poor and working-class families to enjoy the benefits of government services without having to pay hefty taxes on their incomes.