In modern times, a lottery is an organized game in which people pay a small amount for the chance to win a large sum of money. This money can be used for a variety of purposes, but is most commonly used to fund public services such as education or housing. There are also private lotteries in which people have the opportunity to purchase goods or services for a smaller price than normal. In the US, state-run lotteries are common and are often regulated by state governments.

In the past, states offered lotteries as a way to collect voluntary taxes. They were a popular alternative to imposing direct taxation, and many of the early American colleges, including Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, William and Mary, and King’s College, were funded by them. Private lotteries were also common in the colonial era as a method of selling property or services for more money than could be obtained through an auction or regular sale.

The popularity of the lottery has changed since the Revolutionary War, and its appeal has shifted. The lottery has now become a ubiquitous form of gambling that entices the poor with promises of instant wealth. In fact, Cohen writes, the popularity of the lottery has coincided with a decline in financial security for working Americans. As income inequality widened, pensions and social-security benefits shrank, and health-care costs rose, the longstanding national promise that hard work would yield a secure, middle-class life eroded.