The practice of distributing property and other assets by lot is recorded in dozens of instances in biblical texts, as well as by ancient Roman emperors. Generally speaking, however, lottery drawing and prize distributions have been used for material gain rather than as social entertainment or for giving away goods. Among the most popular examples are dinner entertainments called apophoreta (Greek: “that which is carried home”) that are held at Saturnalian feasts, in which prizes such as pieces of wood with symbols on them are drawn for by lottery participants toward the end of the meal.

In recent years the word lottery has also come to refer to a game in which money is rewarded for picking specific numbers, typically in a large number of combinations. Typically, the prize fund is either a fixed amount of cash or goods, or it can be a percentage of the total receipts, with the organizer bearing the risk if fewer tickets are sold than expected.

State-run lotteries tend to have broad popular support, at least as long as the proceeds are seen to be benefiting a particular public good such as education. This argument is particularly powerful in times of economic stress, as it can be a convenient distraction from the fact that states are often raising taxes or cutting public services precisely to compensate for budget deficits that are caused by lotteries.