Lottery is a popular way for governments to raise money by selling tickets with numbers that are drawn at random to win prizes, often large amounts of cash. The word is derived from the Italian lotteria, from a Germanic root meaning “lot, portion, share,” and it has long been used for raising funds to help with public or charitable purposes. Privately organized lotteries are also common, such as for a chance to buy a vacation cruise or a new car.
In some lotteries, the prize is a fixed amount of cash or goods, while in others the winner is chosen by drawing lots. Modern lotteries can be conducted online as well as in person. The word is also used to describe any happening or process that appears to be determined by chance: Life’s a lottery, and the winners are all chosen by fate.
The purchase of lottery tickets cannot be accounted for by decision models based on expected value maximization, because the tickets are purchased at a cost that is higher than their expected gain. However, lottery purchases can be accounted for by more general models in which the risk-seeking behavior of individuals is captured by adjusting the curvature of the utility function.