Lottery
A gambling game in which players pay a consideration (such as money or property) for a chance to win a prize determined by random procedure. Lotteries are usually used for public and private purposes, such as determining who will receive units in a housing block or a kindergarten placement at a reputable school. They are also often used to finance public works projects, including roads and canals. In colonial America, for example, the lottery was an important source of funding for the early English colonies.
Modern state lotteries follow a similar pattern. The first to introduce a lottery was New Hampshire in 1964, and the success of this venture encouraged other states to adopt it. Typically, each lottery has its own rules, but the basic elements are the same: a way to record bettors’ identities and their stakes; a drawing for prizes; and some means of determining whether a bettor won.
Most modern lotteries allow bettors to choose their own numbers or, in some cases, to let a computer pick numbers for them. Those who choose the latter option often have to mark a special box or section of the playslip to indicate that they will accept whatever set of numbers is randomly generated for them.
Lottery participants come from all walks of life, but there are some surprisingly consistent patterns. In general, state lottery bettors are disproportionately from middle-income neighborhoods. They spend far more money on tickets than do low-income citizens, and the bulk of the lottery’s revenues come from them.