An official lottery is an organized contest in which tickets are sold and prizes (typically cash or goods) are awarded to those who match a combination of numbers. The lottery is a popular form of gambling in many countries and can be operated by government agencies, private organizations or even individuals. Its prizes are usually set by law as a percentage of total ticket sales.

State lotteries are often promoted as a way to fund government programs without raising taxes. This is an appealing idea, especially to politicians who do not want to cut back on cherished services and are afraid of being punished at the polls for increasing taxes. But while the money a lottery raises may be enough to maintain some programs, it is not nearly enough to offset tax cuts or meaningfully bolster government spending.

A common argument against state lotteries is that they amount to a form of regressive taxation, a burden that falls more heavily on lower-income taxpayers than higher-income ones. Because the poor and working classes tend to play lotteries, some people say, it is unfair to force them to pay for the illusory hopes of the rich.