A competition based on chance, in which numbered tickets are sold for a prize, the winners being selected by lot. Lotteries are usually run by governments, though private companies may also organize them.
Lottery games are very popular in the United States, where Americans spend about $100 billion a year on them. Most of the money from these games outside your winnings goes back to the state where you play. State officials have complete control over how to use this money, but most choose to enhance public services like education and roadwork, fund support centers for problem gamblers, and more.
While the state lottery is a success by many measures, it is not without its problems. For one thing, it is often a classic example of public policy being made piecemeal and incrementally. The state establishes a monopoly for itself; hires a government agency or public corporation to run it (rather than licensing a private firm in return for a share of revenues); starts operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and, because the state is constantly pressured for additional revenue, gradually expands its offerings, adding new games and increasing their complexity.
The result is that the lottery functions as a kind of merry-go-round, with voters wanting the state to spend more, politicians looking at it as a painless way to tax the public, and the lottery officials seeking to maximize revenues, which necessarily puts them at cross-purposes with the general public interest. And there are also serious ethical questions about the promotion of gambling.