What is a Lottery?

A contest based on chance in which numbered tickets are sold and prizes given to the holders of numbers drawn at random. Prizes are often money or goods. Lotteries are often held to raise money for state projects. They may also be used to determine, among other things, the winner of a sports competition, or the winners of public or private scholarships. A lottery may be a system for allocating housing units in a subsidized apartment complex, or kindergarten placements in a public school. The word is also used figuratively of something whose outcome appears to depend on luck: “Life is a lottery.”

Since their beginnings, most state governments have promoted lotteries as a source of “painless” revenue, arguing that the profits from ticket sales will allow government programs to be funded without raising taxes. This argument has proved to be successful. During the 1970s, twelve states (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont) adopted lotteries, and others did so during the 1980s and 1990s. As of August 2004, state-sponsored lotteries operate in forty-four states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Although some critics of state-sponsored lotteries argue that they encourage gambling addiction and do not help the poor, research suggests that, on balance, they are a good way to raise money for government. Nevertheless, the success of lotteries depends on the existence of a large base of regular players who purchase tickets frequently and in substantial amounts. This creates a tension between the desire to expand lottery participation and the need to protect the incomes of those who play regularly.