A lottery is a process of allocating prizes to participants by a process that depends on chance. A common example is the lottery for kindergarten admission at a reputable public school. Another is the financial lottery, where participants pay a modest amount of money to select a group of numbers and then win prizes if those numbers are randomly drawn by machines. Other examples of a lottery include those that allocate units in a subsidized housing block or vaccines against fast-moving diseases.

In the United States, most states and the District of Columbia operate lotteries. The proceeds from these lotteries contribute billions to state coffers each year. In addition, lotteries provide opportunities for people to become millionaires by winning the jackpot prize. Despite these benefits, the lottery remains a controversial form of gambling. It is criticized by critics for promoting addictive gambling behavior and for having a regressive impact on lower-income groups. It is also criticized for the conflict between the desire of governments to increase revenue and their duty to promote the welfare of the citizens.

The word lottery derives from the Middle Dutch lotinge, which may be a loanword from the Low German noun loot, meaning “seed” or “fate.” The first recorded lotteries were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century to raise funds for town fortifications and for the poor. Lotteries became popular in colonial America, where Benjamin Franklin held a lottery to raise funds for cannons to defend Philadelphia against the British invasion.