Lottery is a type of gambling in which numbers are drawn to determine a prize winner. It is a common way to raise money for good causes. Lotteries are regulated by state governments and typically involve high cash prizes. However, they can also be used to raise funds for education and addiction treatment. In the United States, 37 states and the District of Columbia have a lottery.

The history of lottery is a classic example of public policy being made piecemeal and incrementally, with authority and pressures to officials scattered across multiple departments. State lottery officials are typically tasked with a very specific set of responsibilities with few resources to address the more general issues that come up as a result of their activities.

This is largely due to the fact that most lotteries operate as businesses with a primary goal of maximizing revenues. As a result, advertising and other activities are geared towards persuading targeted groups to spend their money on the lottery. This raises important questions about how effective these promotions are in encouraging spending, and whether it is appropriate for a government agency to promote gambling.

The modern revival of state lotteries began in New Hampshire in 1964 and has spread throughout the country. Since then, no state has abolished its lottery. Most state lotteries follow similar structures: they establish a legal monopoly for themselves; hire a public corporation to run the lottery (as opposed to licensing a private company in return for a share of profits); begin operations with a modest number of relatively simple games; and, driven by constant pressure for additional revenues, progressively expand the lottery’s size and complexity by adding new games.