A lottery is a scheme for the distribution of prizes, usually money, by chance. It involves numbered tickets or symbols, and is often organized as a state or national game. It may be played individually or collectively (as in a syndicate). It is a form of gambling that relies on chance and the winners are selected by drawing. In colonial America, lotteries played a major role in financing private and public ventures. Lottery proceeds helped to build churches, libraries, canals, bridges, colleges and universities. They also financed roads, military expeditions and the construction of fortifications in the American Revolutionary War.

Most states and the District of Columbia run a lottery. The six states that do not are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah and Nevada. The reason for this varies. The states that do run lotteries benefit from the revenues they generate, but these funds only make up a small percentage of overall state spending.

One of the messages that lotteries promote is that winning the lottery is good for you because it provides funds to state governments, especially schools. But this message is not accurate. Unlike other forms of gambling, the lottery doesn’t contribute a significant amount to overall state revenue.

Another problem with lotteries is that they encourage covetousness. People buy into the idea that they will be able to solve all their problems by winning big amounts. But this hope is empty and it contradicts what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).