A lottery is a system for selecting winners by chance. Prizes are usually money, goods or services. Governments often organize lotteries to raise funds for public projects. In the United States, almost all states and the District of Columbia operate lotteries. A few states have also regulated private lotteries.

The casting of lots for decisions and fates has a long record in human history, including several instances in the Bible. Lotteries as a way to collect revenue for public projects are more recent, beginning in 1776, when the Continental Congress held a lottery to help finance the American Revolution. The first public lotteries distributed prizes in the form of property, such as dinnerware or slaves, but later gave away cash. Private lotteries continued to be popular in the United States, helping fund Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale and other American colleges.

While the casting of lots for money and other prizes is clearly gambling, modern lotteries are often defended as non-gambling, arguing that they raise public revenues through players voluntarily spending their own money. In a time of anti-tax sentiment, however, state governments have become dependent on the “painless” revenues generated by lotteries and face constant pressure to increase them.

In order to promote a lottery, government officials must convince the general population to spend their money on tickets. Advertising, which is often focused on celebrity endorsements, is a key part of this effort. But does this promotion of gambling have negative consequences? And is this an appropriate function for the state?