Lottery is a form of gambling in which numbers are drawn to determine the winners of prizes such as property or money. The practice of making decisions and determining fates by casting lots has a long record in human history (including several instances in the Bible), but lotteries for material gain are more recent, with the first recorded public lottery to distribute prize money dating to the 15th century in towns in the Low Countries.

The story of the lottery demonstrates the evil nature of people. It is a sad commentary on small-town life, and how people can be so corrupted by traditions that they condone the evil of others even when it is in their own best interests. Shirley Jackson also criticized democracy as it is practiced in the village, and she suggests that we should be able to stand up against authority when we feel it is wrong.

Modern lotteries take many forms, including the distribution of prizes by chance in commercial promotions and the selection of jury members. In the strict sense of the word, however, a lottery is only a kind of gambling if payment of some sort of consideration is required for a chance to win. Lotteries used to be a common way for states to raise funds for projects such as roads, bridges and schools. At the time of the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin held a lottery in Philadelphia to raise money for the militia, and John Hancock ran one in Boston to build Faneuil Hall.