A lottery is a method of raising money for the benefit of certain public interests such as school construction, social services and municipal projects. It involves buying tickets containing numbers or symbols and winning prizes if the numbered or symbol combinations match those drawn by chance. Modern lotteries are largely based on the principle of selecting winners using random methods such as shaking, tossing or a computer drawing. Many states also use a lottery system to award housing units or kindergarten placements.

In the United States, state-sponsored lotteries are common and are usually a source of tax revenue. Some states have a state lottery with a single game; others operate multiple games such as keno, video poker and the multi-state Powerball game. In addition to these centralized state lotteries, there are a number of privately run lotteries including keno and scratch-off games.

The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson takes place in a remote American village where traditions and customs dominate the community. At the beginning of the story, middle-aged housewife Tessie Hutchinson is late for The Lottery because she has to finish washing the breakfast dishes and does not want to leave them in the sink.

Once a lottery is established, revenues typically expand rapidly before leveling off and sometimes declining, resulting in the need to introduce new games to sustain revenues. This approach has prompted concerns that the lottery promotes gambling addiction and is unfair to poorer individuals who spend large portions of their incomes on tickets.