Lottery is a system of selecting winners for prizes, such as money or goods. The practice is ancient and occurs in many cultures; for example, the Old Testament has Moses dividing land by lottery, and the Romans often used lots at dinner parties (called apophoreta) to give away slaves or property.
A lottery may be a public or private enterprise. It usually involves bettors writing their names or numbers on a ticket, which is then deposited for shuffling and possible selection in a drawing. Some modern lotteries use computers to record each bettor’s choice of numbers or symbols. The range of possibilities is called the “number space” or “coverage.”
If several tickets have the winning combination, the prize is shared. If no such ticket is sold, the prize money rolls over to the next drawing, increasing its size and chances of being won. Lotteries have been a popular means of raising funds for both public and private ventures since colonial America. For example, they financed the construction of Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia, and King’s College (now the University of Columbia).
A common form is the state lottery, which offers large prizes to be won by purchasing a ticket. The prizes vary, but typically include cash, vacations, cars, and other goods. A percentage of proceeds is normally deducted for promotion and other costs. Some lotteries offer fixed prizes based on the number of tickets purchased, while others offer a prize structure that changes with ticket sales.