A lottery is a game of chance in which numbers are drawn at random and prize winners receive money for their tickets. Lotteries are often run by state governments to raise money for various projects.

It is not clear how old the concept of a lottery is, but it has been around for a long time. Probably the first recorded lotteries to offer tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money were conducted in the Low Countries during the 15th century. Town records from Ghent, Bruges and others show that people organized lotteries to raise funds for a variety of purposes, including to help the poor.

In colonial-era America, lotteries were widely used to finance the establishment of the colonies. The Continental Congress used a lottery to raise money for the colonial army, and Alexander Hamilton wrote that “everybody will be willing to hazard trifling sums in exchange for an excellent chance of winning considerable gain.”

Since then, states have promoted lotteries as a source of painless revenue that can help fund government programs. But critics have charged that the primary function of lotteries is to promote gambling, which is often addictive. They also claim that the promotion of lottery gambling runs at cross-purposes with state government’s duty to protect the public welfare.

While lottery players are generally well aware that their odds of winning are extremely long, most still play because they believe it is their civic duty to support the state by buying a ticket. Those who buy tickets are disproportionately lower-income, less educated and nonwhite.