Lottery is a gambling game in which players purchase tickets to be entered into a drawing for prizes, such as money or goods. The term is also used to refer to a state-sponsored lottery or other competitions based on chance, such as a sports draft.

Lotteries have a long history in human societies, and the casting of lots has been used for everything from determining fates to choosing military commanders. In modern times, governments have begun using them to fund education, veteran’s health programs, and other services without imposing especially onerous taxes on middle-class or working-class citizens.

The first states to offer public lotteries did so in the wake of World War II, seeking ways to expand their social safety nets without increasing taxes on their residents. Lotteries have since spread, and people are now playing them in 45 of the 50 states. But despite what the billboards might suggest, most of those who play the lottery are not among the wealthiest citizens: The players are disproportionately lower-income, less educated, nonwhite, and male.

In colonial America, lotteries were common and played a major role in financing roads, libraries, churches, colleges, canals, bridges, and other public works. Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to raise money for cannons, and George Washington was manager of a “Slave Lottery” that advertised land and slaves as prizes in the Virginia Gazette.