Lottery is any arrangement in which prizes, such as money or goods, are allocated by a process that relies wholly on chance. It may have multiple stages, and some elements of skill may be involved in the process. The term may also refer to a specific competition, such as a sporting event or academic contest.
In colonial America, for instance, Benjamin Franklin sponsored a lottery to raise funds for cannons to defend Philadelphia against the British; George Washington attempted a similar lottery to build a road across the Blue Ridge Mountains. Today, lotteries are popular in many states and are an important source of revenue for public projects.
During the 1970s, state lotteries began to proliferate rapidly. Usually, they establish a monopoly and create a state agency to run the lottery (rather than licensing a private firm in return for a share of revenues); begin operations with a small number of relatively simple games; and then, as revenues rise, continue expanding by adding new games, typically with ever-larger prize amounts.
Critics of the lottery argue that it promotes addictive gambling behavior, that it is a major regressive tax on poorer people, and that it runs at cross-purposes with the state’s broader obligation to protect the welfare of its citizens. Others argue that a more fundamental problem is at work: The desire of state officials to increase revenues is running at odds with the need to promote a prosperous economy that can provide the means for citizens to secure a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, including adequate health care and education.