A lottery is a method of distributing something (usually money or prizes) among a group of people by lot. The term may refer to a government-sponsored contest promising big bucks to the winners, or it may also describe any contest in which the participants have only a very low chance of winning. Many schools choose students by lottery, for example.

A typical lottery consists of a pool of money to be awarded to the winners, with all entries having a chance to win a prize equal to the number of tickets sold. Typically, the promoter deducts all costs from the pool before awarding the prizes. Prizes can include cash, goods or services. In some lotteries, the pool of money is fixed while in others it grows with each ticket purchase.

Lotteries are often advertised through radio, television and newspapers. Most states regulate the promotion and operation of lotteries. Some even require that lotteries be conducted only by licensed promoters. In the United States, federal and state taxes on winnings from a lottery are usually quite high.

In the past, many people used lotteries as a way of raising money for their communities and their country. Benjamin Franklin organized a number of lotteries to raise money for the defense of Philadelphia and for building Faneuil Hall in Boston. George Washington participated in a number of lotteries, including one that offered land and slaves as prizes, which was criticized by the Virginia Gazette and eventually made illegal.

People who purchase lottery tickets do so because they enjoy the entertainment value and/or fantasy of becoming wealthy. These preferences cannot be accounted for by decision models based on expected value maximization because the cost of purchasing a lottery ticket is higher than the average monetary prize. However, models based on utility functions defined on things other than lottery outcomes can account for lottery purchases.

Another popular way of playing the lottery is with pull-tab tickets, which are a quick variant on traditional lotto games. These tickets are similar to scratch-offs, but the numbers are printed on a perforated paper tab that must be pulled open to reveal the numbers. The player then selects the numbers they want to play and turns in their ticket. If the numbers match those on the front of the ticket, they win. Pull-tabs are cheaper than traditional lotto tickets but have lower payouts. Many lotteries offer these tickets for sale at convenience stores, gas stations and supermarkets.