Lottery is a type of gambling in which participants pay a sum of money to be randomly selected for a prize. It is a popular form of fundraising for a variety of causes, and it is also used for military conscription, commercial promotions in which property is given away by a random procedure, and the selection of members of a jury. There are many different types of lottery, but all of them require payment of a consideration in exchange for a chance to win the prize. Modern lotteries are often characterized by the use of computers to select winners.
In the United States, state governments run the vast majority of lotteries. Lotteries are generally considered to be non-profitable activities, but in some cases a profit may be made by selling advertising space to companies that wish to promote their products. While the idea of giving away prizes to random people has a long history in human culture, the modern concept of lotteries as games that can be played for material gain is relatively recent.
The first state lotteries began in the early post-World War II period, when many states were looking to expand their social safety nets without raising taxes too much on the middle and working classes. Politicians saw lotteries as a way to do just that, and they also viewed them as a way to avoid the political and fiscal problems that might arise from a general increase in state spending.
Unlike other gambling activities, which tend to have a large number of players, lotteries are almost entirely self-limiting. There are exceptions, such as the Mega Millions lottery in the US, but the overwhelming majority of people who participate in the lottery do so on a small scale and only occasionally play for big prizes. The low participation level and skewed distribution of winners make lottery games easy to regulate and keep out of the hands of compulsive gamblers.
Lotteries are advertised as a recreational activity, with the message being that winning is fun. They also encourage players to spend more on tickets, and the marketing strategy involves targeting specific constituencies, such as convenience store owners (who typically act as vendors for the lottery); suppliers of equipment or services for running the lottery; teachers (in those states where a portion of proceeds are earmarked for education); and state legislators (since they are usually the primary beneficiaries of the additional revenue).
Because lotteries are run as businesses with a focus on maximizing revenues, they must advertise in ways that will persuade target groups to spend their money. This necessarily involves promoting gambling, and it raises questions about whether this is an appropriate function for the state. Moreover, the promotion of gambling is likely to have negative consequences for the poor and other problem gamblers, as well as to have regressive effects on lower-income communities. These effects are difficult to quantify, however, since the value of the monetary gains is not always directly apparent.