The lottery is a way to raise money by selling chances to win prizes, like money. It’s a form of gambling, but not all forms of lotteries are legal or legitimate. Some are used to disperse stipends for schooling or housing units, while others dish out big cash prizes. A lottery may be held by state governments, private companies, or even charitable organizations. Benjamin Franklin, for example, held a lottery during the American Revolution to help fund cannons that helped defend Philadelphia.

While playing the lottery can be a fun pastime, it isn’t a smart financial decision. For the average person, odds of winning are minuscule and purchasing a ticket requires foregoing other opportunities to save for things like retirement or college tuition. And as a group, lottery players contribute billions to government receipts that could be used for other purposes.

The word lotteries dates back to Middle Dutch lottere, from the Middle French loterie (which itself is probably a calque on the Middle English word lotterie). The first recorded public lotteries were in the Low Countries in the 15th century for raising funds for town fortifications and helping the poor. But making decisions and determining fates by the casting of lots has a much longer record, dating back to ancient times. In fact, there are a number of references to it in the Bible. It wasn’t until the 16th century, however, that the idea of using lotteries for gaining material goods became popular.