A lottery is an arrangement in which prizes are allocated to people based on a process that relies wholly on chance. The prize may be a cash amount or another item of value such as goods, services, or real estate.

Many governments have used lotteries to raise revenue, often by combining them with other forms of gambling. For example, in addition to a cash prize, some lotteries offer units in subsidized housing and kindergarten placements at reputable schools. In the immediate post-World War II period, many states viewed lottery revenues as an opportunity to expand social safety net services without increasing onerous taxes on middle and lower classes.

Ultimately, however, it is hard to justify allowing a government at any level to profit from promoting gambling. The question is not whether state governments should promote gambling but rather how much of a share they should take in their budgets from such activities.

Moreover, while the state can control the lottery’s business model by controlling the number of games and its marketing, it cannot control the behavior of those who play the game. For example, research shows that most lottery players are from middle-class neighborhoods and far fewer come from poor neighborhoods. It is also true that many people who win the lottery spend their winnings on things they don’t need. They could better use the money to build an emergency fund or pay off credit card debt. They can also consider investing it in a pension plan.