A gambling game or method of raising money, as for some public charitable purpose, in which a large number of tickets are sold and a drawing is held for certain prizes. Also, any scheme for the distribution of prizes by chance: to look upon life as a lottery.
Most states have lotteries to raise money for a variety of state-sponsored programs and purposes. These range from roads to education and welfare, to judicial reforms, medical research, and public services. Lotteries have a widespread appeal, and most people approve of them. However, participation rates and ticket sales are comparatively low.
In general, when a government introduces a lottery it legislates a monopoly for itself, establishes a government agency or public corporation to manage the operation, and begins operations with a modest number of relatively simple games. Pressure to increase revenues drives subsequent expansion, usually in the form of adding new games.
As a result, the lottery becomes more and more a business whose success depends on maximizing the number of tickets sold and the amount of money collected from those sales. To achieve these goals, the lottery must engage in aggressive advertising and spend considerable sums on promotion. Critics argue that the lottery promotes addictive gambling behavior, is a major regressive tax on lower-income groups, and contributes to other forms of illegal gambling.
State officials, particularly those responsible for budget decisions, are often at cross-purposes with their lottery administrators, as they seek to maximize revenue while trying to protect the welfare of citizens. The resulting tensions are a classic example of policy making by piecemeal and incremental steps, without overall direction or overview, and with a fragmented division of authority between the executive and legislative branches.