A type of gambling game in which numbers are drawn and the people with matching numbers win a prize. A lottery is also a system of selecting people for jobs, public offices, or other opportunities through random selection or drawing lots. It is sometimes used as an alternative to other forms of assessment, such as a written exam or oral interview. The word derives from the Old Testament instruction that Moses should divide land among the people by lot and from the practice of casting lots in ancient Roman coliseums to determine who would be awarded slaves or property. The practice became widespread in the United States after World War II when state governments sought to expand their social safety nets without imposing additional onerous taxes on working families.
Many states have lotteries to raise money for various purposes, such as education, road construction, and the arts. Privately organized lotteries also have been popular in the past. The first European lotteries in the modern sense of the word appeared in 15th-century Burgundy and Flanders, with towns attempting to raise funds to fortify their defenses or aid the poor. Francis I of France permitted the establishment of lotteries for both private and public profit in several cities between 1520 and 1539.
The purchase of lottery tickets cannot be accounted for by decision models based on expected value maximization. However, more general models incorporating risk-seeking behavior may explain such purchases. For example, the expected utility of a lottery ticket may be outweighed by the entertainment value or other non-monetary benefits obtained from playing the lottery.