A lottery is a gambling game in which people pay a small amount of money for a chance to win a larger sum. Its popularity is due in part to its promise of a windfall that can transform an average person into a millionaire overnight. Unlike most other forms of gambling, lottery participants do not have to leave their homes to play.

A basic requirement of all lotteries is a method for recording the identities of bettors and the amounts they stake. This may take the form of a pool or collection of tickets or their counterfoils, from which winners are drawn by random selection. Alternatively, a bettor may write his or her name on a receipt, which is then deposited for shuffling and later used to determine winners. Computers are increasingly used in this process because of their ability to keep track of large numbers of entries.

The objective fiscal circumstances of a state do not appear to have much impact on whether or when states adopt lotteries. Instead, critics focus on specific features of the games, such as their alleged regressive impact on lower-income neighborhoods.

A number of states have earmarked lottery proceeds for particular purposes, such as education. However, these programs tend to get shortchanged by the fact that lottery funds reduce the appropriations that would otherwise go to these purposes from the general fund. As a result, there is little or no evidence that lottery revenues have replaced other sources of funding for these programs.