Lottery is a game in which prizes are awarded by drawing lots. A lottery may be a public or private scheme, where tickets are sold for a chance to win a prize. The drawing is often done by computer or other mechanical means. The prize may be money, goods or services. Some lotteries are run by state governments; others are run by organizations that are not government agencies. In the United States, lotteries are usually governed by state law. Some states allow a fixed percentage of the proceeds from lotteries to be used for education, health, or other public purposes.

In the immediate post-World War II period, some states saw lotteries as a way to expand their array of social safety net programs without raising taxes. This arrangement eventually came to an end. In the United States, people still enjoy playing the lottery, but many also have become clear-eyed about how it works and about how much they are losing to the odds.

Some modern lotteries are used for military conscription, commercial promotions in which property is given away by a random procedure, and the selection of jury members from lists of registered voters. All of these types of lotteries are not considered gambling by the strict definition of the word because, in order to be eligible to participate in the drawing, an individual must pay a consideration (property, work or money). However, most people would agree that the lottery is a form of gambling.