Lottery

A form of gambling in which tokens are distributed or sold, and prizes (money, goods, services) are allocated by chance. A lottery is usually run by a government or licensed promoter. The prize fund may be fixed or it may be a percentage of total receipts after expenses (profits, costs of promotion, taxes) have been deducted.

The word lottery is thought to have originated in the Low Countries in the first half of the 15th century, with town records mentioning “lottery” appearing in Ghent, Utrecht and Bruges. It is also possible that it was a borrowing from Middle Dutch loterie, or a calque on Middle French loterie, “action of drawing lots”.

Modern state-sponsored lotteries usually involve payment of a consideration (money or property) for the chance to win a prize. Prizes vary but are generally a combination of cash and goods.

Lotteries have long been popular as a means to raise money for public purposes. The rewards for winning can be very large. Lotteries have a particular appeal in states that have large social safety nets and could benefit from extra revenue without raising taxes too much on the middle class or working people.

But there’s a dark underbelly to lotteries, and it is that the odds of winning are very poor – so bad that most people who play end up going broke. This is particularly the case if they buy into the notion that lottery winnings are a good way to build up an emergency savings account or pay off credit card debt.