A lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn for prizes. Prizes may be money, goods or services. Modern lotteries are usually conducted electronically, with players marking a playslip to select the numbers they wish to choose. The computer then randomly picks numbers for each drawing. The resulting numbers are called winners, and the odds of winning depend on how many tickets are sold and how randomly the chosen numbers appear on the ticket.

Several states have used lotteries to raise money for a variety of public purposes, including building public works, supplying firefighting companies, and aiding the poor. Despite criticisms that they promote addictive gambling behavior, generate significant illegal gambling activity, and act as a regressive tax on lower-income households, lotteries continue to be popular with some people.

Most state lotteries follow a similar pattern: The legislature establishes a state agency or private corporation to run the lottery; starts with a modest number of relatively simple games; and, in response to pressure to increase revenues, progressively expands its offering of new games. Some critics argue that this expansion is harmful to the social fabric.

The word lottery comes from the Middle Dutch lotinge, or “action of drawing lots” (as defined by Webster’s Dictionary). Although making decisions and determining fates through casting lots has a long history—including a few examples in the Bible—the use of lotteries for material gain is less ancient. Nevertheless, early public lotteries were common in the Low Countries to raise funds for town fortifications and to provide relief to the poor.