A lottery is a gambling game in which prizes are awarded based on the drawing of lots. It’s a common way for governments to raise money and can be played in many countries around the world. Historically, people have been drawn to the lottery because of its perceived low risk and high returns. But the truth is, it’s not always a wise financial decision.

While the word “lottery” is usually associated with cash, there are also a number of other prizes that can be awarded. For example, some lotteries award cars or sports memorabilia to the winner. In some cases, a portion of the winnings may be donated to charity. Others offer a chance to win a vacation or other experience. The odds of winning the lottery depend on a number of factors, including the size of the jackpot, how much money is available in total, and how many tickets are sold.

The idea of a lottery is as old as humanity itself. The first recorded examples date back to ancient times. In fact, Moses was instructed by the Bible to take a census of Israel and distribute land based on the results of the lottery, while Roman emperors used the lottery to give away slaves and other property. Lotteries were popular in England and later brought to America by British colonists, where they became a regular way for state governments to raise money for everything from the settlement of towns to church construction and even the Revolutionary War.

During the nineteen sixties, however, rising inflation and a ballooning social safety net made it hard for states to balance their budgets without raising taxes or cutting services, which was highly unpopular with voters. It was at this point that legalization advocates realized they had to recast the lottery as something other than an all-encompassing government silver bullet. Instead, they began arguing that the lottery would cover one line item in the budget, typically some form of public service that was popular and nonpartisan–for example, education, veterans’ benefits, or elder care.

Today, most states run a lottery. The six that don’t include Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah, and Nevada (the latter is home to Las Vegas, the gamblers’ paradise). The reason for these exceptions varies: The religiously conservative states of Alabama and Utah are wary of any gambling, while the remaining four avoid it because their budgets are already so large. But the most important factor is probably public opinion: a lottery only has a future if the public believes it’s not just about big money but also about chance and fate. And that’s the one message lottery officials seem to have gotten right. Adapted from “Why Lotteries Work,” by Dan Cohen, to be published in March 2017 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.