The official lottery is a procedure for distributing something (usually money or prizes) among many people in which tickets are sold and winners are chosen by lot or chance. A type of gambling that requires payment in exchange for a chance to win, the term is used to describe a number of public and private ventures, including commercial promotions that involve property or services, military conscription, selection of jury members from lists of registered voters, and state-sponsored games where winning numbers are drawn at random by machines.

A state lottery offers a variety of different games such as a traditional number game, three-digit and four-digit games, keno, instant tickets, and scratch tickets. Many also offer multi-state games like Powerball that create large jackpots. Players must be 18 years or older to play.

Lotteries have long been a common way for governments to raise funds for a variety of public and private projects. In the colonial era, lotteries played a large role in the financing of roads, canals, libraries, schools, and churches. They also helped to fund the creation of Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia, and William and Mary colleges.

Despite their popularity, critics have argued that lottery proceeds are often spent on things that would not otherwise receive government funding and are a form of hidden tax. They have also criticized the way that state lotteries encourage addiction by exposing players to high-frequency advertisements for gambling products. In the United States, more than half of the state lotteries are run by private companies rather than by the government.