The lottery is a gambling game in which people pay to enter for the chance to win a prize, often a large sum of money. Lottery games have been criticized for promoting addictive gambling behavior, imposing a significant regressive tax on low-income groups, and leading to other abuses. In addition, critics charge that the state faces an inherent conflict between its desire to raise revenues from the lottery and its duty to protect the public welfare.

In the United States, where lotteries are common, most state governments defend their adoption by arguing that lotteries generate a source of “painless” revenue: taxpayers voluntarily spend money for the benefit of public services without incurring the stigma of paying taxes. This argument is especially effective in times of economic stress, when it can be used to offset fears of raising taxes or cuts in public spending.

The first recorded signs of a lottery date back centuries, with evidence of Chinese keno slips dating from the Han Dynasty (205–187 BC). In the seventeenth century, King Francis I of France organized the first French lotteries. The American colonies followed suit, with Benjamin Franklin running a lottery in 1748 to raise funds for cannons for the defense of Philadelphia, and George Washington running one to fund a road across Virginia’s mountain pass.