A gambling game where tickets are sold and prizes awarded by a drawing of lots. Lotteries typically involve the distribution of money or goods among participants, although they can also be used to raise funds for a public charitable purpose.

The practice of distributing property or even lives by lottery dates back a long way in history; for example, the Old Testament has Moses instructing the Israelites to divide land through a drawing of lots, and many Roman emperors gave away slaves and other treasures through lotteries during dinner entertainments known as apophoreta. In modern times, state governments began promoting lotteries as a way to generate painless revenue – that is, a means of funding essential services without imposing onerous taxes on working and middle class people.

Lotteries work by dangling the promise of instant riches, often on billboards and TV commercials that show large jackpot amounts. Americans spend more than $80 billion per year on the games, but most don’t win, and even those who do are often bankrupt in a few years.

While the majority of lottery players come from the middle-class, research shows that low-income and high-income residents participate at far lower rates than their share of the population. Moreover, lottery play tends to decline with age and education; people who have graduated from college, for instance, are less likely than those who didn’t to buy lottery tickets. Moreover, lottery revenues often expand dramatically at first, but then level off and sometimes even decline. The industry has responded by introducing new games, hoping to maintain or increase profits.