A lottery is a game of chance in which participants pay a small amount for a chance to win a large prize. The prizes are awarded by a random process, and there is often a limit on how many winners can be chosen. Some lotteries raise money for public benefit, while others are purely recreational. The first modern state lottery was launched in New Hampshire in 1964, and the practice was quickly adopted by other states. It is now legal to play in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Lotteries have broad public support, with 60% of adults in states that have them reporting playing at least once a year. They also develop extensive specific constituencies, including convenience store operators (who buy a large proportion of tickets); lottery suppliers, whose heavy contributions to state political campaigns are well documented; teachers in those states that earmark lottery revenues for education; and state legislators, who are quick to embrace an alternative source of revenue.
Despite the widespread popularity of lotteries, they have serious limitations. The most significant is the difficulty of establishing and managing a lottery when public officials must balance competing goals. Lotteries are typically established piecemeal and incrementally, with the power to control them fragmented between legislative and executive branches. This makes it difficult to establish a coherent gambling policy, and the evolution of a state lottery is frequently driven by narrow special interests, rather than the overall public good.
