A lottery is a system for distributing prizes, usually money, by lot or chance. It is a form of gambling that requires some form of consideration (payment) to play, and it can be played for any type of prize, including money, goods, services, and even real estate. Lotteries may be legal or illegal, and many states regulate them. A lottery is also a device used to raise funds for public purposes. For example, the American colonists often used lotteries to raise money for a variety of purposes, such as building roads and canals and helping poor people.

In the immediate post-World War II period, it was popular for states to hold lotteries as a way to fund a growing array of services without onerous taxes on working families. But the success of lotteries as a source of revenue has prompted a fundamental debate about whether state governments should be in the business of promoting gambling—and, if so, to what extent.

The debate about lottery has shifted from its original emphasis on the desirability of state-sponsored gambling to its regressive effects on low-income groups and its general tendency to promote addiction and other negative social outcomes. Moreover, there is a debate about whether the proceeds from lotteries should be considered “voluntary” taxes or a legitimate means of raising public funds. And the debate has moved from the broader question of whether a lottery is appropriate to the more specific issue of how a lottery should be run to maximize revenues.