A lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers or symbols are drawn at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse them and organize state or national lotteries. The lottery is generally a form of entertainment and many people play it for recreation. Some states have also used the lottery to raise money for special purposes, such as building public works.
In the United States, state governments usually control lotteries by enacting laws and delegating to a lottery division the responsibility for selecting and licensing retailers, training employees of those stores to use lottery terminals, selling tickets and redeeming winning tickets, promoting lottery games, paying high-tier prizes, and ensuring that retailers and players comply with lottery law and rules. State laws also govern exemptions, such as the right of non-profit and church organizations to sell lotteries.
One key element of all lotteries is the drawing, a procedure for selecting winners from a pool or collection of tickets or their counterfoils. This procedure may involve thoroughly mixing the collection by some mechanical means—shaking or tossing—before the winning numbers or symbols are extracted. Increasingly, however, computer technology is being used for this purpose because of its ability to store information about large pools of tickets and generate random selections. Lottery revenues make up a small percentage of most state budgets. The bulk of revenues comes from sales and income taxes. The percentage of participants who believe they have won a lottery prize is largely determined by socioeconomic characteristics, with the exception of racial or ethnic groups.
