A lottery is a type of gambling which is present in USA as well as in Europe. It's guided through the government and that's the reason some countries don't have such a form of gambling since the government outlawed it, while in other countries it became a national lottery.

Prior to the World War II this form of gambling was illegal, but in 1960 casinos and lotteries began to appear in United States of America and Europe and they were used as a means to raise revenue together with taxes.

Sometimes the lottery is described as a regressive tax. It is described as a "tax on stupidity" because of the minimal chances to win the big prize. Even if it is used to describe this type of gambling, the term "tax" isn't strictly correct since these descriptions are used to make people understand that these games are government-sanctioned operations and they attract only those who don't understand that buying a lottery ticket is a simple economic decision.

Lotteries come in lots of formats. Some lotteries can provide a prize which is according to money and a number of them on goods.

Lottery tickets are often checked on the computer using mark sense-technology, which could check in less than one second if a mix of numbers was chosen by anyone.

Don't think that the lottery was invented in 1960, after the World War II. Romans were first to play this game - this was a way to relax and amuse at dinner parties. The truth is that it was different from these days lottery, because, even when guests were receiving some tickets (the prize often consisted of fancy items), the ones who were unlucky received prizes, too. Consequently, this type of lottery was a kind of distribution of gifts by wealthy noblemen.