A lottery is a scheme for raising money, in which tickets bearing numbers are sold and a drawing is held to determine the winners of prizes. The term is from the Latin for “selection by lot,” or, as a colloquial expression, “the game of chance.”

Gallup polls show that most people have purchased lottery tickets at some time or another. The fondness for them isn’t surprising, given that they offer a low cost way to try to win a prize that can be quite large. Nevertheless, it’s a form of gambling that is addictive and can take away resources from other priorities. There have even been cases in which lottery winnings have triggered a decline in the quality of life for those who acquired them.

The practice of distributing property or other items by lot is ancient, and is cited in the Bible. The Continental Congress voted to hold a lottery to raise funds for the American Revolution, and private lotteries were common in England and America.

When public lotteries first came into use, they were promoted as a way for states to raise money without onerous taxes on the wealthy. The idea was that once the prize money and operating and advertising costs were paid for, the state would get to keep the rest of the revenue. But this arrangement has come to an end. Now, most of the revenue is taken in federal taxes, which can eat up nearly a third of the winnings.