Lottery is a type of gambling where prizes are allocated by chance. Lotteries are often run by state governments in order to raise money for public projects or charitable purposes. A prize in a lottery is typically cash or some form of goods. Some prizes may require skill, but the initial prize allocation relies purely on chance, as do subsequent stages of a lottery competition. The term is also used for other types of competitions, such as athletic contests or musical performances, where a winner is determined by chance.
During colonial era America, lotteries were common and played a role in financing many private and public ventures. The first lottery, in 1612, raised funds for the Virginia Company of London. Lotteries were also used to fund highways, canals, and wharves in the colonies, and they helped to finance the founding of Harvard and Yale Universities. George Washington even sponsored a lottery in 1768 to build a road across the Blue Ridge Mountains, although it was unsuccessful.
Lottery is a huge industry, with people spending about $100 billion each year on tickets. Its popularity is largely due to the perception that it is fun to buy a ticket and hope for the best. But there are a large number of committed lottery players who play for years, spending $50 to $100 a week on tickets. Those players are disproportionately lower-income, less educated, and nonwhite, and they tend to spend more than most other Americans on tickets. Lottery commissions try to deflect criticism of the regressivity of lottery playing by promoting the idea that everyone should play because it raises money for the states.
