The lottery is a type of gambling game in which tickets are purchased for a chance to win prizes, such as cash or goods. People who have the numbers that match those randomly drawn by a machine are the winners. A lottery is also a term used to describe any process in which the outcome depends on luck or chance. For example, the selection of students for a scholarship program is sometimes described as a lottery.

Lotteries have been around for centuries. The biblical Old Testament, for instance, instructs Moses to divide land among Israelites by lot. And in the ancient Roman world, emperors gave away property and slaves by lot. In modern times, state lotteries have enjoyed widespread popular approval as a painless way for states to raise revenue and expand their social safety nets without placing especially heavy burdens on middle-class and working-class residents.

In virtually every state, the introduction of a state lottery has followed remarkably similar patterns: the legislature establishes a monopoly for itself; establishes an agency or public corporation to run the lottery (as opposed to licensing a private firm in return for a share of profits); begins operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and progressively increases its scope as demand grows.

As the popularity of state lotteries has grown, however, so have concerns about their operation and effects. These concerns range from problems with compulsive gamblers and alleged regressive impacts on lower-income groups to the question of whether it is appropriate for public officials to be in the business of promoting gambling.