ghetto lottery

Noun

ghetto lottery (plural ghetto lotteries)

1. (US, figuratively, idiomatic) A financial windfall obtainable by a socioeconomically disadvantaged person.
   • The experts all agree that sports betting and the numbers game—the ghetto lottery—are the biggest sources of income for the mob, and this money is used to finance other rackets like narcotics, loansharking, pornography, and the infiltration of legitimate businesses and unions.1977, Jack Newfield, Paul Du Brul, The Abuse of Power: the Permanent Government and the Fall of New York, Viking Press, page 258. (link)
   • Marcia’s father, known in his neighborhood as “Duke,” became quite a gambler, betting on horses, dogs, boxing matches, and even policy, or “playing the numbers,” which was the ghetto lottery, so to speak.2003, Michael Eric Dyson, Why I love black women, Basic Civitas Books, page 234. (link)