A competition based on chance, in which numbered tickets are sold and prizes are given to those who win the numbers drawn at random. Lotteries are often used as a way of raising money for government, charities, etc.; they may also be called “state lottery” or “public lotteries.”

The earliest public lotteries were established in the Low Countries in the 15th century to raise funds for town walls and fortifications. Later, they were used to help fund the American Revolution and later still for building roads, libraries, schools, and colleges. Several colonies held public lotteries to finance their military ventures in the French and Indian War, including Benjamin Franklin’s unsuccessful attempt to hold a lottery to fund cannons for Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson’s heirs later used a private lottery to raise money for his mounting debts.

Lotteries have long been popular with the general public, but they also generate substantial support from specific constituencies: convenience store operators (who provide the most important retail outlets for lotteries); lottery suppliers and vendors (heavy contributions to state political campaigns are regularly reported); teachers and school administrators (since lottery revenues are earmarked in many states for education), state legislators (who become accustomed to receiving large annual payments from the industry), etc.

People who play the lottery go in clear-eyed about the odds of winning. They know that their chances of winning are slim, but they do it anyway. They even develop quote-unquote systems, such as choosing their favorite number or buying tickets at a certain time of day. They also try to optimize their luck by avoiding the same numbers in the same group or ones that end with the same digit.