A lottery is a game in which tickets are purchased for a chance to win a prize. The prize can be money or goods. State governments often organize lotteries to raise revenue. In the United States, most states offer at least one form of lottery.

In the modern sense of the word, the first lotteries were in Europe in the 15th century, when towns tried to raise funds for defense or charity. The word lottery is derived from Middle Dutch loterij, perhaps via Old French loterie and the Latin fortuna, meaning “luck” or “fortune.”

Lottery games can be played in many different ways. The prize may be a fixed amount of cash or goods, such as food, appliances, cars, or real estate. In other cases the prize will be a percentage of total receipts. The prize fund can also be a random selection of winners from all ticket purchasers.

The modern popularity of the lottery can be traced to circumstances that arose in the immediate post-World War II period. Some states, in particular, needed to expand their array of social services without imposing especially onerous taxes on the middle class and working classes. The idea was that if states offered a lotto-like game, people would play it voluntarily and therefore it would raise enough revenue to enable those services to be expanded.