A lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn to determine winners. Lotteries are commonly used to raise money for public works projects, college scholarships, and other public goods and services. In the United States, state governments hold and regulate lotteries. Some private firms also run lotteries for a profit, and these are often called commercial lotteries. State lotteries are popular with many Americans, who spend about $100 billion each year on tickets.

Despite the popularity of lotteries, they are not without controversy. Lottery critics focus on the potential for compulsive gambling and on alleged regressive effects on lower-income communities. Lottery proponents, however, emphasize that the benefits of lotteries outweigh any risks associated with them.

The drawing of lots to decide ownership or other rights is recorded in ancient documents, and public lotteries began in the Low Countries during the 15th century, raising funds for town fortifications and the poor. In the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin conducted a lottery to raise money for cannons to defend Philadelphia against the British.

The first state to adopt a lottery was New York in 1967, and others followed suit quickly. During the 1970s, lotteries were particularly popular in the Northeast, where state governments needed to expand their social safety nets and wanted a way to do so without imposing onerous taxes on middle- and working-class residents. State lotteries enjoy broad public approval, and research shows that the level of approval is not related to a state’s actual fiscal conditions. Rather, the popularity of a lottery is largely driven by whether people see its proceeds benefiting a particular public good.