A lottery is a process where people pay a small amount of money to get the chance to win something else. It’s used in many different ways, for example to decide who gets units in a subsidized housing complex, kindergarten placements or even sports team placements. The idea behind the lottery is to ensure that everyone has a fair chance of winning.

The first recorded lotteries were in the Low Countries in the 15th century, where towns would hold public lotteries to raise money for town fortifications and the poor. But the modern state lottery was started by a handful of states in the immediate post-World War II period who wanted to expand their social safety nets without relying on especially onerous taxes on middle and working class citizens.

Today, lottery proceeds make up about a fifth of all state revenue. But the big problem with a lottery is that it’s not just about raising money for state services, it’s also about promoting gambling. State advertising for the lottery often suggests that playing is a fun, harmless activity and obscures its regressivity.

The ads feature lots of prizes with huge jackpots. These are a great way to draw attention and attract new players, but they make the actual chances of winning much smaller. Glickman recommends picking random numbers rather than ones that people associate with significant dates like birthdays or sequences that hundreds of people play (like 1-2-3-4-5) because you’ll have to split the prize if you win.