"Of the $9 [lottery fee], $5 ultimately goes to Booz Allen and $4 goes to the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the site, a BLM spokesman said."
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/recreation-gov-mak...
More context on public vs privately run web service: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/recreation-gov-mak...
So I scrapped permit availabilities in Tahoe's Desolation Wilderness, and I created a data visualization to explore it. I hope that it helps you plan your next trip!
Unfortunately, National Parks are only accessible to those who have the right information and a lot of patience. 2 years ago, I created a National Parks visualization to help with that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20563745 That was a great overview. But you still had to do a lot of research to plan your trip.
Rim to Rim Permits allows you to apply for a permit online up to one year in advance. It takes care of filling out and sending the permit application on your behalf.
Please have a look and let me know what you think!