A lottery is a game of chance in which numbers are drawn to win a prize. Lotteries are often promoted as a way to raise money for a public or charitable purpose. The prizes are usually cash, but some are goods, services, or land. Many states have laws that regulate lotteries. Some have taxes that are withheld from lottery winnings. People spend billions each year playing the lottery. Some people play it for fun, while others feel that the lottery is their only hope of improving their life. State-run lotteries generate revenue that can benefit the people of a state, but this revenue is also inefficiently collected and is only a small portion of total state revenue.

Lotteries have a long history and are popular throughout the world. They are usually played by distributing tickets for a draw to determine winners. The word is probably from Old English hlot “what falls to someone by lot” (compare Old Norse hlutr, Middle Dutch loterje, German Los), a root borrowed from Proto-Germanic *khlutan, the source of Old English hleotan “to cast lots; to divide something by lot.” During the 1740s and 1750s, public lotteries were important sources of funds for public and private ventures in colonial America. These lotteries helped finance roads, canals, colleges, churches, and buildings for the colonies. The Continental Congress even tried to use a lottery to raise funds for the Revolutionary War.