A lottery is a way of raising money for something, usually by selling tickets that have numbers on them. The numbers are drawn by chance and the people who have those numbers on their ticket win prizes. Lotteries are often illegal, but some governments have legalized them. They are popular and profitable, but critics say that they have negative effects on poor people, problem gamblers, and other groups.

The story begins with Mr. Summers, a man who represents authority in the short story, gathering the children and other adults to watch a drawing for a prize in the town’s lottery. He carries out a black wooden box and stirs up the papers inside. He then starts to explain the rules of the lottery to the crowd.

In the 15th century, towns in Burgundy and Flanders began holding lotteries to raise money for war purposes or to help the poor. Francis I of France endorsed them in the 1500s, and they became widespread throughout Europe. They were hailed as a painless alternative to taxes.

In the United States, state-run lotteries have become an important source of revenue for public projects. Lotteries are widely criticized, however, for their potential to be a hidden tax on the poor and for contributing to the problem of compulsive gambling. A central question in the debate over state-sponsored lotteries is whether the government has a legitimate role in encouraging people to spend their time and money playing them.