Lottery
The process by which prize amounts are allocated by chance, whether in a game like a financial lottery or a public lottery for government funds. The word is from the Dutch noun lot, meaning “fate” or “divine providence.”
There are many types of lotteries. The most common are financial, where people buy tickets for the chance to win a large sum of money. People also play lotteries to get things that are in high demand, such as subsidized housing units or kindergarten placements. In sports, the National Basketball Association holds a lottery for the 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs to determine their draft pick.
A large percentage of lottery proceeds is paid out as prizes, but administrators often keep a portion for themselves and use it to fund state initiatives. Some of the remainder is given to retailers as commissions, and other costs are deducted. The odds of winning depend on the size of the prize, the number of players, and the type of game. Games with smaller prizes and more winners typically have better odds than those with larger prizes and fewer winners.
Lottery advertisers promote the message that anyone can be a winner. But the truth is that people who win the most are disproportionately lower-income, less educated, nonwhite, and male. They are also more likely to be addicts and spend a lot of time playing the lottery. In other words, they are more prone to the lottery’s ugly underbelly.