Lottery is a form of gambling where tickets are sold for a prize, which may be cash or goods. Most states and countries regulate the lottery, although some outlaw it or limit its availability. Lottery revenues are usually used for public expenditures, such as education and health. Many people play the lottery for entertainment, and its marketing strategy aims to convince them that playing is fun and harmless. This message occludes the fact that it is a significant source of gambling revenue and may contribute to inequality.

The first recorded lotteries involved distribution of prizes in the form of articles of unequal value, such as fine dinnerware and other goods. Some were organized by the Roman Empire as a public service. The first European lotteries to offer tickets for sale with money prizes are thought to have appeared in 15th-century Burgundy and Flanders, with towns attempting to raise funds for town fortifications and the poor. The practice spread to the United States, where it played a major role in raising money for a variety of public uses, including canals, roads, churches, and colleges. For example, the first universities established in the American colonies – Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia, and King’s College (now Columbia) – were financed by lotteries.

Purchases of lottery tickets can be explained by decision models based on expected value maximization, though the asymmetrically risky nature of the games makes them an undesirable form of taxation for many. Other models based on utility functions defined on things other than lottery outcomes can also account for lottery purchasing, as can the fact that lottery purchases enable some individuals to experience a thrill and indulge in a fantasy of becoming wealthy.