The lottery is a process of giving people a fair chance at something, usually money or goods. The prize winnings are determined by random selection or draw, either by a human in the form of a game show host or an automated system such as a computer. Lotteries may be used to fill vacancies in jobs or sports teams, allocate units in a subsidized housing block, or even award kindergarten placements.

A common element in all lotteries is a pool of tickets or their counterfoils from which the winners are selected. This pool is thoroughly mixed by some mechanical procedure, such as shaking or tossing; this is meant to ensure that the winnings are based entirely on chance and no bias of any kind exists in the selection process. This mixing is often done by hand, but modern computers are now widely used in the field.

The earliest known lotteries were conducted by religious orders or kings, and in the early colonies of America lotteries played a major role in the financing of public projects such as roads, canals, churches, schools, colleges, and universities. Lotteries are also popular in the United States, where they generate billions of dollars in revenue each year for state governments. In spite of the huge tax bills that many lottery winners face, the games remain popular and the industry is growing. This growth is partially driven by super-sized jackpots that are advertised on billboards and newscasts.