A lottery is a game of chance where a person or group selects numbers and hopes to win a prize. The prizes are usually cash or goods and services. The chances of winning vary depending on how many tickets are sold and the size of the jackpot. Some lotteries offer a single large prize, while others divide up smaller prizes. The first recorded use of a lottery dates back to the early fourteenth century. The drawing of lots to determine ownership or other rights is common throughout history and can be found in documents as diverse as the Bible and the Book of Songs.

In colonial America, lotteries played a crucial role in financing both private and public ventures. They financed roads, libraries, colleges, churches, canals, and bridges. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were all founded in part with lottery profits. During the French and Indian Wars, colonial militias raised money with lotteries. The Continental Congress even attempted to raise money for the Revolutionary War with a lottery.

By the end of the nineteenth century, with states short of revenue and riven by antitax sentiment, legalization advocates began a shift in strategy. Instead of arguing that a state’s lottery could float the entire budget, they focused on a single line item, generally education but sometimes elder care or aid for veterans. In that way, they hoped to make the lottery seem like a nonpartisan alternative to raising taxes. The strategy proved successful, and by the late 1970s almost all states had jumped on the lottery bandwagon.