A lottery (from Latin lotto, literally “divided fortune”) is a type of gambling in which participants buy tickets and a drawing is held to select winners. Prizes can be money, goods, services, or anything else. Lotteries are typically governed by state or local laws and may be run for public or private purposes.

Among the most popular types of lotteries are the state-sponsored games, which provide the largest prizes and generate the highest revenues. The first recorded state-sponsored lotteries were in the Low Countries in the 15th century, when towns raised money to build town fortifications by selling tickets with numbered receipts that were later matched with the winning numbers.

Governments have long promoted the lottery as a form of “painless” revenue that doesn’t require tax increases or cuts in other programs. But critics point to problems such as the promotion of gambling, its addictive nature, and its regressive impact on lower-income groups.

In the US, a variety of factors influence lottery participation, including age, income, gender, race/ethnicity, education level and religion. For example, men play the lottery more than women and people with less education tend to be more likely to play. In addition, lottery play declines with age and decreases in middle age. Those with religious beliefs also tend to participate in the lottery more often. However, lottery advertising must primarily appeal to the desires of a broad group of potential bettors in order to increase ticket sales and revenues.