A competition based on chance in which numbered tickets are sold for the opportunity to win a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse them and organize state or national lottery systems. People also use the word to describe any situation in which the outcome depends on luck or chance, such as the way that judges are assigned cases.

The casting of lots to determine fates and fortunes has a long history in human culture, but the idea of a lottery with cash prizes is much more recent. The first recorded public lotteries to sell tickets and award prizes in the form of money were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century, for such purposes as repairing town walls and fortifications, and helping the poor.

Various governments have used lotteries to raise money for public projects, including roads, canals, bridges, schools, libraries, and churches. During the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin sponsored a lottery to raise funds for cannons to defend Philadelphia against the British. In colonial America, more than 200 lotteries were established to help finance private and public ventures, including the founding of Princeton and Columbia Universities.

The success of the lottery is generally attributed to its attractiveness as an alternative to direct taxation, since the players voluntarily spend their own money in exchange for the chance of winning a substantial prize. Nevertheless, experts on gambling disagree on whether it is a morally acceptable activity. Some think that the monetary prize is not enough to offset the disutility of spending one’s own money, while others say that the combination of entertainment value and the hope for non-monetary gains outweighs the negative utilitarian effect.