A form of gambling in which numbers are drawn at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse them and regulate them. In the United States, state-run lotteries are legal and popular.

The practice of making decisions or determining fates by the casting of lots has a long record in human history, but the use of lotteries for material gain is of more recent origin. One of the earliest recorded public lotteries in Europe was organized by Roman Emperor Augustus for municipal repairs in Rome, and the first to offer prizes in cash or goods were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century.

In colonial-era America, lotteries helped finance the European settlement of America and were common in spite of Protestant proscriptions against gambling. Many of the early church buildings and universities in the United States owe their existence to lottery money. George Washington sponsored a lottery to raise money for the construction of roads across the Blue Ridge Mountains, and New York held multiple lotteries that helped fund Columbia University.

Despite the popularity of lotteries, most scholars believe that there is little or no evidence that they improve social welfare or increase economic efficiency. In fact, studies show that a state’s objective fiscal health has little bearing on whether it adopts a lottery. The only real issue is the degree to which a lottery benefits specific institutions in the state. Some lottery advocates argue that because people are going to gamble anyway, governments might as well pocket the proceeds. This argument has its limits, but it gives moral cover to people who would otherwise oppose lotteries for ethical reasons.