A lottery is a game of chance in which numbers are drawn to determine a winner. Prizes are usually cash, but can also include merchandise or services. People have been playing lotteries for centuries, from keno slips in the Chinese Han Dynasty (205–187 BC) to games of chance in medieval Europe. Today, most states offer some kind of state lottery. People spend over $80 Billion on these tickets each year, but it’s a waste of money — better used to build an emergency fund or pay down credit card debt.

States’ need for revenue is one reason they enacted lotteries. Another is the belief that gambling is inevitable and states might as well participate, because they can generate profits from it. But promoting this gambling has its own problems, such as poor people being lured into the games and problem gamblers getting hooked. Moreover, running a lottery as a business is at cross-purposes with the public interest.

Once a lottery is established, it tends to grow over time and expand the number of games offered. This is the result of both public pressure to increase revenues and the natural evolution of the industry itself. As a result, the initial policy decisions that were made in setting up a lottery are often overwhelmed by the ongoing and changing nature of the enterprise. In this way, few states have a coherent “lottery policy.”