What is a Lottery?
a method of raising money by selling tickets with numbers on them and choosing winners by chance, often with prizes in the form of cash or goods. The word lottery derives from the Dutch noun lot, meaning “fate”; it is a variant of Old English loterie, which may be derived from Middle Dutch loterie, itself a calque on Middle Frenchloterie, which is perhaps itself a calque on Middle English lot, meaning “a drawing of lots.”
A primary argument in favor of state-sponsored lotteries has long been that they represent a relatively painless source of revenue to supplement general tax revenues and to support specific public uses, such as education. This appeal continues to resonate even in an antitax era when state governments find themselves dependent upon and pressured to increase the size of lottery profits.
While the casting of lots for deciding fates has an ancient record (see Lottery in the Bible), the first recorded public lotteries to award prize money were held in the Low Countries in the 15th century for purposes such as town fortifications and helping poor citizens. The oldest running lottery is the Dutch Staatsloterij, which began operations in 1726.
Aside from the monetary benefits, many people buy lottery tickets for personal reasons such as commemorating significant dates or events, like birthdays, and buying Quick Picks to increase their chances of winning. However, Harvard statistics professor Mark Glickman warns that if you win the big jackpot by picking your children’s ages or birthdays you will end up with a smaller share of the prize because other people will have the same numbers.
a method of raising money by selling tickets with numbers on them and choosing winners by chance, often with prizes in the form of cash or goods. The word lottery derives from the Dutch noun lot, meaning “fate”; it is a variant of Old English loterie, which may be derived from Middle Dutch loterie, itself…