A lottery is a form of gambling where people pay to have numbers selected by chance. Prizes are then awarded to those whose numbers match the winning ones. Lotteries are also used to distribute items and services, such as units in a subsidized housing block or kindergarten placements at a prestigious public school.

Lotteries have a long record, dating back centuries. In the Old Testament, Moses was instructed to take a census of Israel and then divide the land by lot; Roman emperors rewarded slaves in this way; and early European states used lotteries to raise funds for municipal repairs and for poor relief. In the United States, state governments adopted lotteries to provide “painless” revenue in an era when state taxes were unpopular.

State lotteries quickly gained wide public support, as demonstrated by the fact that 60 percent of adults report playing at least once a year. But growth in lottery revenues tends to level off and even decline, prompting a continuing effort to introduce new games to increase participation.

A key issue in the lottery is the ability of a government at any level to manage an activity from which it profits. This is particularly challenging in the case of state lotteries, where voters want more spending, while politicians view lottery proceeds as a “hidden tax.” In addition, critics charge that much lottery advertising is deceptive and often presents misleading information about the odds of winning the jackpot (lottery prizes are paid in annual installments over 20 years, with inflation dramatically eroding the actual value), and inflates the amount of money to be won.