Lottery is a form of gambling where people purchase tickets to win a prize. The prize is usually money, though some games have other goods. State-run lotteries are common in the United States, where they raise funds for public services, infrastructure, and social programs. In addition, lottery proceeds help create jobs in the ticket sales and advertising industries. Lottery games can also promote irrational gambling behavior and lead to addiction. Lotteries are controversial, and some states have banned them because of concerns about corruption, regressive effects on lower-income groups, and the risk of compulsive gambling.

In the United States, the modern era of state lotteries began in 1964 with New Hampshire’s establishment of a lottery. It was followed by 10 other states within the next decade, and now 37 states and Washington, D.C. have operating lotteries. Lottery advocates argue that they have a great potential to improve public welfare by providing funds for education, health care, and other needed social services. However, critics note that a lottery is little more than a large-scale version of traditional raffles, and argue that the industry’s rapid expansion reveals its inherent flaws.

In most cases, a state lottery starts out with a small number of games and quickly expands to meet the demands of the market. For example, in the 1970s, many states introduced a variety of instant games (such as scratch-off tickets) that offer higher prizes than traditional lotteries but lower odds of winning. Moreover, the vast majority of the revenue from a lottery is distributed to winners, with only about 5% going to expenses like promotion and taxes.