Lottery is a popular form of gambling in which people pay small sums for the chance to win a large prize. The term is also used to describe processes where winners are selected randomly, such as in sports team drafts or the allocation of scarce medical treatment. In this context, randomness provides a semblance of fairness.

Historically, lottery proceeds have been used to support areas of public budgets that are not easy to fund with traditional taxes, such as education or welfare programs for veterans and the elderly. Some of the money is paid to retailers who sell tickets, and some of it goes toward administrative costs, such as paying lottery officials’ salaries. Many lotteries provide a breakdown of how much of the money goes to each category of expense.

The word “lottery” derives from the Latin loterie, which means drawing lots. It is unclear whether the Latin root is related to the Greek (lotos) or Hebrew yashar (“divvying up land”). Regardless of its origin, the concept of lottery has a long history.

In the early United States, Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to raise money to purchase cannons for the city of Philadelphia. George Washington participated in the Mountain Road Lottery of 1768, and his rare lottery tickets became collectors’ items. Today, state governments operate a variety of lotteries to raise money for a wide range of purposes, including schools, highways, and prison construction. Many of these lotteries allow participants to choose between a lump sum payment or annuity payments over several years.