What is a Lottery?

A lottery is a game of chance in which prizes are awarded to participants by drawing lots. The practice of making decisions and determining fates by the casting of lots has a long history (including several instances in the Bible), but lotteries as a means to distribute goods have only recently entered the public arena: the first such lottery in Western Europe was organized by Augustus Caesar for municipal repairs in Rome; private lotteries were popular in colonial America, where they provided funds for colleges such as Harvard and Yale; and George Washington sponsored a lottery to raise money for cannons during the American Revolution.

Modern lotteries offer a wide variety of games and are regulated by law. Players purchase a ticket and select a set of numbers, either by marking them on a playslip or by allowing a machine to randomly choose them. If their numbers match those drawn by a computer, the player wins a prize. Prizes may range from cash to merchandise to even units in a housing complex or kindergarten placements at a school.

Lottery is often promoted as a means of raising revenue for a particular public purpose, and indeed, this argument can help explain why it has been so popular in many states. But research shows that lottery popularity is not related to a state’s actual fiscal health, as demonstrated by the fact that lotteries have been successful even in times of budget surpluses.