A lottery is a gambling game in which people pay small amounts of money to enter a draw for a large prize, such as cash. It is often organized by a state or an independent organization, and a percentage of the profits is donated to good causes. The word “lottery” is from Middle Dutch loterie, a compound of Old Dutch lootje (“luck”) and leger (“drawing”). The oldest known lotteries were probably conducted in the Low Countries during the 15th century for purposes such as raising funds to build town fortifications and helping the poor.

In the modern era, states and private organizations conduct lotteries to distribute income tax refunds and prizes. They use computer systems to record and print tickets in retail shops or sell them by mail. A percentage of proceeds normally goes to administrative costs, promotional expenses, and profits for the organizer or sponsors, leaving the rest to award prizes. The popularity of the lottery has generated some ethical concerns, notably the possibility that it might be used to dish out kindergarten admissions at a reputable school or units in a subsidized housing block, or to produce vaccines for a rapidly spreading virus.

However, in the late twentieth century, the aversion to taxes among many white voters helped fuel a resurgence of state-run lotteries. As Cohen writes, such advocates argued that if people were going to gamble anyway, governments might as well pocket the profits. In addition, they dismissed long-standing ethical objections that lottery funding could be unfairly shifted from those who need it to those who don’t.