a gambling game in which participants pay an entrance fee for the chance to win a prize, such as money or goods. Also called lotto; raffle; recursive drawing.

The first recorded lotteries offering tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money took place in the Low Countries in the 15th century. Various towns held public lotteries to raise funds for town fortifications and help the poor. The prize amounts were usually modest.

Today, state lotteries are based on the same basic principles as those in the 15th century: the government establishes a monopoly for itself; creates a public agency or corporation to run the lottery (as opposed to licensing a private company in exchange for a cut of profits); begins operations with a limited number of relatively simple games; and, due to pressure for additional revenues, progressively expands the number and complexity of available games.

In addition to traditional drawn games, lotteries often offer instant-win prizes, such as scratch-off tickets, which have smaller prize amounts and lower odds of winning. Instant-win games also have the added benefit of generating significant advertising revenue for the lottery operator.

While some people play the lottery for the excitement of winning, most buy tickets merely as a form of entertainment. Most don’t view it as a way to change their lives, but rather as a temporary respite from everyday reality. Even in the rare case that they do win, their winnings will likely be subject to substantial taxation, leaving them with much less than they would have had if they had not won the lottery.