Lottery is the practice of distributing prizes by drawing lots to determine winners. It has a long history, and the casting of lots to make decisions and determine fates is recorded in the Bible. The first public lotteries to award prize money were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century for such purposes as town repairs and helping the poor.
State lotteries typically start with a monopoly established by state legislation; hire a public corporation to operate the lottery (rather than licensing private firms for a share of profits); begin operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and, due to pressure for additional revenues, progressively expand their offerings in size and complexity. The result is that state lottery officials quickly become accustomed to a dependency on revenue that they can control little or nothing about.
A large percentage of the funds from a lottery are used for commissions paid to retailers and for overhead costs for the lottery system itself. The remainder, which is available to players, is normally divided between a small number of major prizes and many smaller ones. The latter provide a lower winning opportunity, but may appeal to a greater number of people.
The popularity of state lotteries often correlates with economic conditions and the perception that proceeds from the lottery are used to fund a specific public good, such as education. However, studies have shown that the objective fiscal circumstances of a state do not appear to have much influence on whether or when it adopts a lottery.
