A lottery is a form of gambling in which players pick numbers to win a prize. It is most often run by states, although it can be conducted privately as well. The prizes can range from modest cash to multi-million dollar jackpots. The odds of winning are very slim, but people still play for the chance of becoming rich. In the United States, 37 states and Washington, DC have lotteries.
The earliest recorded lotteries were in the Low Countries in the 15th century, when towns used them to raise money for town fortifications and help the poor. They were popular, but not universally accepted.
Modern state lotteries are modeled on the illegal numbers games that once thrived in many major cities, but they are legal and offer more prizes. One of the most significant innovations was daily number games, which allow players to choose their own numbers each day and find out that day if they have won. These games seem to attract a much wider base of participants than the more traditional raffle-style games, and they tend to generate far more income for the state.
Historically, state lotteries have been highly successful in raising funds for public goods and services. Benjamin Franklin ran a lottery to buy cannons for defense of Philadelphia; John Hancock organized a lottery to help build Faneuil Hall in Boston; and George Washington held one to help fund the construction of a road over a mountain pass.
