A lottery is an activity in which tickets are sold for a prize, usually money, by chance. People with tickets matching the winning numbers are declared winners. Lotteries have been used to raise funds for a variety of purposes, from public works projects such as the building of the Great Wall of China to distributing slaves in the Roman Empire.
In the United States, the first state lotteries were established in the nineteenth century. They have since become a common source of revenue for state governments, which are often heavily dependent on them. Often, these revenue sources are highly vulnerable to pressures for increases in state government spending. In addition, few states have a coherent gambling policy. Instead, most of their policy decisions are made piecemeal and incrementally. The overall result is that the general welfare is taken into account only intermittently.
While some states have banned the lottery, most of them organize it in some way. The most popular are state-run games, which have the advantage of being relatively easy to operate and to maintain. These have generally a high level of public approval, as the proceeds are often seen as promoting a particular public good such as education. Studies have shown, however, that the popularity of a lottery is not always connected to the actual fiscal health of the state. In fact, one study found that state governments have a tendency to increase their lotteries even in times of relative financial stability.