A lottery is a game of chance in which numbers are drawn and prizes are given out. The number of winners depends on how many tickets are sold. People often buy them for money, but they can also be used to raise funds for charity or government projects. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse them and organize state or national lotteries. The drawing of lots to determine ownership or other rights is recorded in ancient documents, including the Bible. In modern times, the term lottery is most often associated with games of chance in which people pay a small sum to have a chance to win a large amount of money or other goods.
The vast majority of lottery winnings, beyond the actual prize amount, goes back to the state government. Some of it is used for overhead costs of the lottery system (designing scratch-off tickets, recording live drawing events, etc.). The rest goes to support infrastructure, education, and gambling addiction initiatives. Some states even put a portion of the proceeds into their general fund, allowing them to use it as they see fit.
The bottom quintile of income distribution is the most likely to play the lottery. They may have a few dollars left over after paying bills and rent to spend on a ticket or two. But the odds are long, and they know it. Lottery commissions code their messages to obscure the regressive nature of lottery playing, and they make the experience fun, which obscures how much people actually spend on tickets.