The lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn at random to determine winners. Prizes may be money, goods or services. Lotteries are a popular source of public funding, raising funds for a variety of uses, from roads to schools. The first state-sponsored lottery was established in New Hampshire in 1964, and since then more than a dozen states have adopted the practice. But despite the widespread popularity of lottery games, there are a number of controversies surrounding them, including questions about the prevalence of compulsive gambling and the regressive effects on low-income communities.

Whether a lottery is run by the government or privately, the basic mechanics are identical: a pool of tickets and their counterfoils are thoroughly mixed, and winning numbers or symbols are selected by chance through a drawing procedure. Many of these procedures are mechanical, such as shaking or tossing the tickets, but computers have become increasingly common. The draw is then verified by an independent agency to ensure that the winning numbers are truly chosen by chance.

A key argument for the adoption of a lottery is that it will raise money for a specific public purpose without raising taxes or cutting existing programs. Historically, this argument has been especially effective in times of economic stress, when the public is receptive to the idea that a lottery provides a painless way to support needed services. But studies have found that the objective fiscal circumstances of a state do not appear to influence whether or when it adopts a lottery.