Lottery is a gambling game in which numbers are drawn and prizes awarded. It is a form of public entertainment that is popular in many countries. In the United States, state-sponsored lottery games are common. These are generally organized by state governments and offer a wide variety of prizes, such as cash, goods, services and even real estate.

A large number of tickets are sold, and the winnings are determined by chance. In the US, people spend upwards of $100 billion a year on lottery tickets. States promote the lottery as a way to raise revenue. But it’s not clear that those revenues are worth the costs to society of this regressive activity.

The word is probably derived from the Dutch noun lot meaning “fate” or “chance.” A lottery is any scheme for distribution of prizes by chance: The children’s chances of getting a good education depend on the lottery of admissions. The game of lot is a common feature of sports and other events, including governmental procedures: the state used a lottery to assign spaces in the campground.

The purchase of lottery tickets can be explained by decision models based on expected value maximization, but also by more general utility functions that are shaped by risk-seeking behavior. The purchase of a ticket also enables some purchasers to indulge in a fantasy of wealth and power. The purchase of a lottery ticket is an example of irrational gambling behavior.