A game in which numbers are drawn to determine winners, and a prize — typically money or goods — is awarded. Lotteries are generally regulated to ensure that they are fair and legal.

Although conservative Protestants have long been against gambling, many of the country’s first church buildings were paid for by lotteries, and a number of the world’s elite universities owe their existence to such state funding. But in recent years, lottery advocates have found it more difficult to persuade voters that the games are good for the state and the country.

The most obvious issue stems from the fact that lotteries are run as businesses with a focus on increasing revenues, which necessitates advertising. But such a strategy places the promotion of gambling at cross-purposes with the larger public interest. Voters want states to spend more on things like schools and roads, and politicians look at lotteries as a way of doing so without incurring onerous taxes on middle class and working class citizens.

But even if this dynamic was not at play, there are a host of other issues that state lotteries raise. For example, when the top prize is not won, it can be “rolled over” to the next drawing; this practice is a significant source of controversy. And, in general, the growth of lottery profits has produced problems such as inflated state spending and excessive competition between different types of lottery games. Finally, there is the question of whether lotteries actually promote gambling and encourage problem gambling.