Lottery is a form of gambling in which people purchase tickets for a chance to win a prize. The prizes may be cash or goods. In the United States, most states operate a lottery. The practice of using lotteries dates back to ancient times. The Bible mentions distributing land and slaves by lot, and the Roman emperor Nero used a type of lottery called an apophoreta to give away property and slaves at Saturnalian feasts.

Many, but not all, state lotteries offer games where the winner is determined by picking the correct numbers. Most of these types of lotteries involve choosing numbers from a range of 1 to 50. In some states, players can also buy tickets that have images or logos printed on them. These ticket options are usually less common.

The principal argument for the adoption of a state lottery has typically focused on its value as a source of “painless” revenue: voters and politicians see it as a way to spend money on public projects without raising taxes. Once a lottery is established, however, debate and criticism shifts from the desirability of the lottery to specific features of its operations, such as its potential for compulsive gambling or its regressive impact on lower-income groups.

Because lotteries are operated as businesses with a focus on maximizing revenues, their advertising necessarily focuses on persuading people to spend their money. Is this a proper function for a government agency, especially one that raises revenues that can be spent at cross-purposes with the general welfare?