Lottery is the procedure for distributing money or prizes among a number of persons in accordance with chance. The first state lotteries in Europe were held in the 15th century, with cities in Burgundy and Flanders attempting to raise money for war fortifications, the poor, and other public purposes. They were very popular and hailed as a “painless form of taxation.”

After being outlawed in 1826, private lottery promotions continued to be widely used throughout England and America as ways of selling property for more than it would command in a typical sale. Benjamin Franklin, for example, organized a lottery to raise money for cannons for Philadelphia during the American Revolution. State governments have since adopted and promoted public lotteries, often with great success.

While state lotteries are generally considered to be a legitimate form of government revenue, they also generate criticism for the way they promote gambling to the general public. They often use misleading information about the odds of winning, inflate the value of the prize money (lottery prizes are usually paid in installments over many years, with inflation and taxes dramatically eroding the current value of the sum); and rely heavily on advertising to boost revenues.

In an era where voters tend to oppose increasing state spending, promoting lotteries as painless sources of revenue has become politically attractive to state legislators. But how meaningful is the revenue from these games, and does running a state-sponsored lottery serve an important function for the government at any level?