A lottery is a form of gambling that uses random chance to select winners. Winners can be awarded prizes of cash or goods. Historically, state lotteries have been used to raise funds for public use. This has included everything from building schools to buying cannons for the Continental Congress during the American Revolution. Lotteries are also used to award scholarships, to give away sports team draft picks, and for various other purposes.

The idea of making decisions and determining fates by casting lots dates back to ancient times, with dozens of instances recorded in the Bible and Roman emperors giving away property and slaves as entertainment during Saturnalian feasts. The modern practice of lotteries is much more recent, however. The first record of a public lottery that offered tickets for sale with prize money can be found in the Low Countries in the 15th century, where towns held them to raise money for town fortifications and the poor.

In states that operate lotteries, public support for the activity is broad and strong. But once a lottery is established, debate and criticism often focus on specific features of its operations. These include concerns about compulsive gambling and its regressive effect on lower-income groups.

As a result, state lotteries often evolve, with new games introduced in an attempt to maintain or increase revenues. For example, in the early 1970s, a wave of innovations in the form of scratch-off and instant games transformed the industry. These offered lower prize amounts—often in the tens of dollars, but with higher odds of winning than traditional games.