A lottery is a contest wherein the prize is determined by drawing lots. In a state-run lottery, tickets are sold to players in exchange for money or other valuable goods. A number of people buy lottery tickets for the hope of winning a prize, but most do not win anything. Despite this, many states promote the lottery as a means of raising funds for public purposes.

Lotteries have a long history and the practice of making decisions and determining fates by casting lots has been used throughout human history. The earliest recorded public lotteries to distribute prizes of money were held in the Low Countries during the 15th century to raise funds for town fortifications and to help the poor.

State-run lotteries typically begin with a relatively small number of games, but as the revenue from these games increases and political pressure grows for more revenues, these lotteries are progressively expanded in size and complexity. Several of these expansions have taken place in recent years, as new games such as keno and video poker were added to the existing lottery offerings.

The lottery industry is a classic example of a market dominated by super users, or “winners” as they are called, who drive the majority of the overall business and have a significant impact on the likelihood of others playing. According to a study conducted by Les Bernal, an anti-state-sponsored gambling activist for the Pew Charitable Trusts, these super users account for up to 70 to 80 percent of lottery sales.