Lotteries are a popular type of gambling most often run by governments and local states. The betting consists of drawing lots (can be done in a variety of ways) for a prize. Lotteries have been a point of contention in some states and therefore are often strictly regulated in many. Some governments have been known to outlaw lotteries all together, while others endorse it and utilize income from them to fund government and education programs.

Lotteries are available in many types of formats and state lotteries are subject to the varying laws of the states that govern them. Prizes in basic lotteries can be fixed cash sums, fixed percentage of the amount of money raised through ticket sales, or goods. Because many of the more recent lotteries allow ticket purchasers to choose their own numbers, there is a possibility of multiple winners which can result in prize sharing.

At present many state lotteries allocate large percentages of the money brought in by state lotteries to the public education system. Unfortunately, often times the funds are utilized to replace traditional funding rather than supplement it thus resulting in no additional money for education through lotteries.