A lottery is a game of chance in which people pay a small amount of money for the chance to win a much larger sum. It is a form of gambling, and it has been used to raise funds for many purposes, including town walls and fortifications, public-works projects, and education. Lotteries are typically run by governments. In the United States, forty-four states and the District of Columbia operate lotteries.

Some of the world’s most prestigious universities owe their existence to lottery money, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth. Similarly, much of New York City’s architecture is the result of state-sponsored lotteries.

The first recorded lotteries to sell tickets with prizes in cash appeared in the Low Countries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Earlier records mention drawing lots to decide ownership or other rights, such as burial sites in cemeteries, but these were not lotteries as we know them today.

Lottery players usually have a clear understanding of the odds of winning. They may even have quote-unquote systems, such as buying only five-number combinations or playing only certain types of games. However, many also have an unspoken assumption that the prize money will not be very large, because the odds of winning are so long.

Lottery commissions rely on two messages to encourage people to play. One is that the money raised helps state budgets. The other is that it is a “fun” experience, a way to enjoy scratching a ticket and maybe win a little bit of money. The latter message obscures the regressivity of lotteries and how much they cost middle-class and working-class families.