Official lottery is a type of gambling in which a player pays a consideration for the chance to win a prize. The modern lotteries are regulated by state governments and operate as commercial enterprises. They can be organized in any form, but must involve payment and a random drawing of numbers or symbols for the winning prize. Various types of prizes are offered, but the most common is money. Other prizes include goods, services, real estate, automobiles, and boats. Lotteries are also used to promote social causes and raise funds for public projects.

The word lottery is derived from the Latin word lottere “to choose by lot” or from the Middle Dutch term loterie “action of loting”. The first European state-sponsored lotteries in the modern sense were held in Burgundy and Flanders in the 15th century as a way to raise money for town defenses and to aid the poor.

Lotteries have been widely adopted in the United States, with the Powerball jackpot hitting $2.04 billion in November 2022. Concerns that lottery profits disproportionately benefit wealthy households and that lower-income families spend a significant portion of their incomes on tickets have blocked the expansion of some state lotteries.

Lottery officials tell voters all the good things lottery proceeds do for the state, ignoring the fact that the lottery is a massive subsidy to gamblers. They also ignore the regressive nature of the game, and the fact that people play for years on end, and spend large portions of their budgets on tickets.