The lottery is a game where players pay for a ticket and then win a prize by matching a series of numbers drawn randomly by machines. Historically, the prizes have been cash and goods. Today, many states have a lottery to raise money for public projects such as roads, schools, and colleges. In addition, some municipalities have lotteries to allocate a limited number of apartment units in subsidized housing or kindergarten placements at reputable public schools.

While some people may play the lottery only rarely, others buy a ticket almost every week. These are the core players, and they are disproportionately lower-income, less educated, nonwhite, and male. One in eight Americans plays the Powerball at least once a year, and these core players make up 70 to 80 percent of total lottery sales.

Since New Hampshire introduced the modern era of state lotteries in 1964, virtually every state has followed suit and now operates a lottery. These lotteries typically follow a similar pattern: the state legislates a monopoly for itself; establishes a state agency or public corporation to operate it (as opposed to licensing a private firm in return for a share of profits); starts out with a modest number of relatively simple games; and then, driven by pressure from revenue, progressively expands its operations by adding new games.

About half of lottery proceeds go toward the prize pool, with the rest being divvied up among administrative costs and vendors. In the United States, federal taxes on winnings are about 24 percent, and in most states there are additional local and state taxes, too.