A lottery is an arrangement in which one or more prizes are allocated by a process that relies entirely on chance. Prizes may be money, goods, services or other things of value. Lotteries are most commonly public or state-sponsored, but private companies can also organize them. They may be organized as a form of entertainment, or they may be used to raise money for charity.

A statutory definition of lottery includes a process in which “a person or persons has an opportunity to win a prize by paying a consideration.” In modern usage, however, the term is more broadly defined to include any scheme for awarding something to a number of people irrespective of whether a payment is made. This is in contrast to a raffle, which is an arrangement in which a ticket purchase gives the purchaser an opportunity to win a prize if the ticket is drawn.

In colonial America, lotteries raised money for private and public projects. They funded canals, roads, buildings and colleges. Benjamin Franklin used a lottery to raise funds for cannons that could help defend Philadelphia against the British. George Washington sponsored a lottery in 1768 to build roads across the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Since the start of the modern era, states have adopted lotteries as an important source of revenue. Lotteries are popular with many groups including convenience store operators (who benefit from large sales of tickets), lottery suppliers (many of whom make substantial contributions to state political campaigns), and teachers in states where lottery revenues are earmarked for education.

State governments generally delegate the responsibility for organizing and regulating a lottery to a separate division of government. Such divisions often select and license retailers, train employees of retail stores to use lottery terminals, assist retailers in promoting the lottery, pay winning tickets, redeem prizes, and collect taxes or other revenues. Lotteries are typically a high-profit business for promoters, with profits generally exceeding costs.

The regressive nature of lottery games is a major concern for critics who see them as a disguised tax on those least able to afford it. Studies show that those with the lowest incomes play a disproportionate share of the tickets. Some states have begun to limit the number of tickets purchased per individual, or even to prohibit them altogether, in a effort to curb the growth of gambling addiction.

The promotion of the lottery is problematic because it conveys a message that gambling is harmless, that anyone can win, and that playing for a small amount of money is worth the risk. Moreover, the promotion is at odds with biblical teaching that money and the desire for it are sinful. The biblical prohibition against covetousness extends to all types of greed, including the desire for a big lottery jackpot. (See Ecclesiastes 5:10.) Those who buy lottery tickets are coveting the prize money, and they are deceiving themselves when they claim that the lottery is an affordable means to achieve wealth.