Lottery is a system of distributing prizes by chance. Generally, tickets are sold for a fixed price and prizes (often money) are awarded to the winners of a drawing. A state lottery may be a popular form of raising revenue, or it can be an instrument for public policy initiatives such as road improvements or educational funding.
Although making decisions and determining fates by the casting of lots has a long record in human history, the modern state lottery is relatively new: it began with New Hampshire in 1964, but all states have now adopted lotteries.
Lottery has become a major part of American life: the vast majority of adults play at least occasionally, and it generates billions in annual revenues for state governments and private organizations. But it is also a highly polarizing force, with critics charging that it promotes addictive gambling behavior and imposes a regressive tax on poorer communities.
Most state lotteries distribute a portion of their prize money to education, but they also allocate a percentage toward administrative costs and vendor fees. The rest is divvied up in different ways according to each state’s wishes, and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries regularly reports how much each state spends on its lottery. In general, however, the amount spent on prizes makes up only about a third of total revenue. The remainder goes toward other costs, including promotional campaigns. Ticket sales are the primary source of income for state lotteries.