Lottery is a form of gambling that gives prizes to winners based on the casting of lots. It has a long history, including several instances in the Bible. It is often used to determine the distribution of property, as well as to provide entertainment and other benefits. Modern lotteries are common for military conscription, commercial promotions where property is given away, and the selection of jurors from lists of registered voters. However, the term “lottery” is used more broadly to refer to any sort of random arrangement in which people are assigned a class and then allocated prizes, whether or not they participate in the lottery.

Because lotteries are run as a business with a focus on maximising revenues, their advertising is necessarily targeted at persuading people to spend their money on them. They promote the message that even if you lose, you should feel good because you’ve done your civic duty by helping the state. This reflects a widespread belief that state governments are underfunded and need new revenue streams.

Despite the fact that they’re a form of gambling, lotteries have gained considerable public support. As a result, few states have abolished them. However, the way in which lottery operations are established and run undermines the concept of public policy. As in many other areas of state government, decisions are made piecemeal and incrementally, and the broader interests of the public are rarely taken into account. Lotteries develop extensive specific constituencies, such as convenience store operators (who are usually lottery vendors); suppliers of products or services that can be purchased through the lottery; teachers in those states where some portion of proceeds is earmarked for education; and state legislators who quickly become accustomed to a steady stream of tax revenues.

The use of lotteries to make decisions and determine fates by chance has a long record, and has included the distribution of property in Israel and the Roman Empire. A similar practice, known as an apophoreta or apophoria, was a popular dinner entertainment at Saturnalian parties, in which guests were given pieces of wood with symbols on them and the host would draw for prizes that the guests could take home.

In colonial America, lotteries were used to finance projects such as paving streets and constructing wharves, building Harvard and Yale, and even supplying a battery of guns for the defense of Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin attempted to hold a lottery to raise funds for his debts, but was unsuccessful.

In the post-World War II era, lotteries were a convenient way for state governments to expand their array of services without raising especially onerous taxes on the middle and working classes. However, these arrangements soon began to crumble as inflation increased the cost of operating state governments, and the need for new revenue sources became increasingly urgent. The resulting expansion of state gambling led to an increasing number of problems, including social problems among the poor and problem gamblers.