Lottery:
A game in which tickets are sold for a chance to win a prize based on a draw of numbers. Lotteries can be organized by governments or private promoters and may include cash or merchandise. Historically, lotteries have been a popular way to raise funds for public projects. In the United States, lottery proceeds have funded road building and improvement, canals, bridges, schools, colleges, churches, and other charitable projects. The Continental Congress used a lottery to try to raise money for the Colonial Army at the outset of the Revolutionary War, and Alexander Hamilton wrote that people would “be willing to hazard a trifling sum for the chance of considerable gain” rather than pay taxes.
The first recorded European lotteries offered prizes in the form of money or goods. They were probably held in the Low Countries around the 15th century, according to town records from Ghent, Bruges, and Utrecht. But the concept may be much older, with references in biblical texts and in ancient Roman history to lottery-like arrangements for the distribution of property and slaves.
States are compelled to have revenue streams, and the desire for a quick influx of money explains why so many people buy lottery tickets. But there’s more going on here than just an inextricable human impulse to gamble. The players that generate the most profits for lottery operators are disproportionately poor, less educated, nonwhite, and male. They’re also disproportionately addicted to lottery playing, which can be extremely expensive — even when you don’t hit the jackpot.