A lottery is a game of chance in which prize money, usually cash, is allocated by drawing numbers. The practice has a long history, including numerous instances in the Bible and the earliest known public lottery, held in Roman times for municipal repairs. More recently, lotteries have been used to award scholarships, medical and dental care, military service, university admissions, and even housing units.
A modern state lottery involves paying for a ticket with a series of numbers or symbols, then winning prizes if the ticket numbers match those randomly selected by machines during a draw. Players often buy tickets in large quantities, and some are so successful they make a living from playing the lottery (the Huffington Post tells one such story).
Despite this widespread popularity, lotteries attract intense criticism for many reasons. They are alleged to promote addictive gambling behavior, impose a regressive tax on lower-income groups, and create a conflict between the desire of governments for revenue and their duty to protect the welfare of citizens.
The origins of lotteries are complex, but they are widely believed to have been prompted by a need for revenue in mid-20th century states. The resulting public policy has evolved piecemeal, with little or no overall overview; thus, the decision to adopt a lottery is a classic example of a piecemeal government response to a specific need rather than a deliberate attempt to establish a new form of governance. The resulting policy, like the gambling industry itself, is inherently controversial.