A lottery is a contest wherein participants pay to have a random (and low) chance of winning something – either cash or goods and services. There are several ways to run a lottery, including state-sponsored lotteries that dish out billions of dollars in prize money and contests that give away things like units in a subsidized housing block or kindergarten placements at a particular school.
The casting of lots for making decisions and determining fates has an ancient record, dating back to keno slips from the Chinese Han dynasty (205–187 BC). The first recorded public lotteries in Europe were held during the Low Countries’ Renaissance in the 15th century to raise funds for town fortifications, and to help the poor.
Today, 44 states and the District of Columbia offer state lotteries. The six that don’t – Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah, and Nevada – are largely driven by religious concerns; by the fact that they already have gambling industries; by the political machinations of convenience store operators and suppliers (heavy contributions to state political campaigns are often reported); and/or by the lack of a perceived need for extra revenue from a lottery.
Once a lottery is established, it typically attracts broad public support. However, it is a constant endeavor to keep that support going; revenues tend to expand dramatically at the start but then level off and even decline. A key to this is innovation – new games that keep lotteries fresh for the public.