A lottery is a game of chance in which numbers are drawn to determine the winner. Prizes are often cash or merchandise, but sometimes services or even real estate are awarded. Historically, lotteries have played a significant role in raising funds for a variety of public purposes. In the early American colonies, they were used to fund many local projects and also helped finance the establishment of Harvard and Yale. Benjamin Franklin sponsored a lottery in 1776 to raise money for cannons to help the Philadelphia militia defend the city from the British invasion.

Today, state-sponsored lotteries are very popular and generate considerable revenue for public agencies. In general, the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of winning a large jackpot. It is important to understand, however, that there are substantial differences among socioeconomic groups and among genders when it comes to lottery play. Some groups, such as the poor and the elderly, are less likely to participate; others, such as the wealthy, are more likely to do so.

The success of a lottery is highly dependent on its promotional strategy. Its promotional campaigns typically present misleading information about the odds of winning, inflate the value of prizes (lotto jackpots are usually paid in equal annual installments over 20 years, with inflation dramatically eroding their current value), and suggest that playing the lottery is a safe and responsible form of gambling. This approach, while effective in generating initial public enthusiasm for a lottery, can quickly cause it to lose popularity if the public becomes aware of the facts about its operation and potential harms.