The lottery is a game of chance that raises money for public purposes. Its popularity is widespread, and most states have some form of it. It involves paying a small amount to purchase a ticket that contains a random selection of numbers or symbols, which are then drawn by machines or human beings. Prizes can be cash or goods and services. Lottery revenues also are used to support areas of the state budget that lack general tax revenue, such as education.

State legislatures often rely on lotteries to increase revenue, especially during hard economic times when they cannot impose higher taxes. In most cases, a special division within the lottery department is responsible for selecting and licensing retailers, training employees to operate and use lottery terminals, promoting the games, redeeming tickets, paying jackpot winners, and ensuring that all activities comply with state law. These departments typically have a large staff of public servants and private contractors.

In the early modern period, lottery proponents emphasized that lotteries were a painless way to raise funds for a wide range of public services and projects. Unlike conventional taxes, they argued, the lotteries were voluntary: people choose to spend their own money in exchange for the opportunity to win something valuable. They were seen as a more equitable alternative to paying direct taxes, which disproportionately burden those with the lowest incomes.

When New Hampshire introduced the first state lottery in 1964, its success inspired many other states to adopt one as well. Since then, most states have established a state-owned monopoly to run their own lotteries. These governmental lotteries usually begin with a relatively modest set of games, and they are then progressively expanded to meet demand. Despite their popularity, critics have found numerous problems with state lotteries, including misleading advertisements (e.g., the fact that odds of winning are often overstated); the inability of state lotteries to provide a steady flow of cash, even with huge jackpots; the tendency of players to concentrate on the big prizes and overlook smaller prizes; and the regressive nature of lottery play.

While a substantial percentage of Americans play the lottery, it is not as popular among all socioeconomic groups as it once was. The most frequent players tend to be low-income, less educated, and nonwhite, while those with more resources play less frequently. Moreover, studies show that lottery play decreases with age and educational attainment. Nonetheless, many lottery proponents argue that regressive trends do not invalidate the benefits of state-owned lotteries. Rather, they are justified by the belief that gambling is an inextricable part of the human experience, and that people will always be willing to risk a trifling sum for a remote prospect of considerable gain. This argument has been echoed in political speeches and in writings by a number of prominent politicians, including Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. It also has been cited in advertising by the New York Lottery. Its billboards promise instant wealth to anyone who wins.